Frozen Fire
by BlankPoofTheory
Summary: This follows the end of Mockingjay from the perspective of Gale and his life without Katniss. We all know that Gale went to District 2 and was given a "fancy" Capitol job, but what was it really? Now that the Mockingjay was not needed would Panem need a new celebrity face to focus their efforts on?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters nor any part of The Hunger Games. I am writing for my enjoyment only. Rating of M because that is where the story is going. **

Chapter 1

I was stationed in a tall building next to a large picture window overlooking the square where Snow will emerge and be tied for his execution. Coin had instructed me to stand here with my bow, in case Katniss were to miss. I tried to tell her there was nothing to worry about, Katniss would never miss, not from that ridiculously short of a distance. Coin would not hear of it, and just insisted I do this, "Always best to have all options covered." if for some reason Katniss missed, I was to shoot Snow in the heart, through his rose, as if Katniss had done it herself.

I watched as Katniss emerged from the mansion. Turning to the side, playing the Mokingjay role. She was followed by Snow who was promptly tied to his post. I saw as Katniss aimed. I could see from here it would hit it's mark. The with a swift movement the arrow tilted upwards as Katniss released.

Coin was hit directly in her eye, as Katniss had always done for her prey. That was all Coin was to her, neither enemy nor necessary evil, only prey. Coin's body fell from the balcony and chaos erupted. Katniss was swarmed by armed guards. I watched Peeta run to her, she was fighting and swirming, trying to escape his grasp. I aimed my arrow at him, unsure if he was having another flashback. The guards pulled them apart and Katniss began to scream and thrash. I heard her scream my name "Gale."

I know what she wants. I swift arrow to end it all. My arrow is already lined up on her, I had been watching like an eagle through the line of sight from my bow. I knew if I were to release it would hit her, and she would be dead. No matter how she screamed my name I couldn't release the arrow. I could not snuff the flames of the girls on fire, the girl I loved. They took her into the mansion, out of my sight. I lowered my bow, knowing the time had passed.

I wondered what they would do to her now. Maybe I should have let the arrow fly and saved her from the horrors that may now be awaiting her. I ran from my perched spot, I had to find someone that would know what was going to happen to her. I ran toward the mansion, weaving between scared and shrieking people. Years of running through the woods evading twisted roots that weaved their way through the forest floor paid off as I reached the front of the mansion with ease. Snow was stilled tied to his post, without an arrow he was slumped over dead. Katniss didn't need to shoot him, she managed to kill two birds with one arrow.

Plutarch was the first person I saw, he was with other officials being rounded up and swooped into the mansion. I followed them in, weaving my way to him, there was still so much chaos, everyone was talking at once. I finally got his attention as his eyes found mine. "What is going to happen to her" I screamed at him above the others. It was suddenly much quieter as others waited for the answer, they too wanted to know what would happen to Katniss Everdeen, the traitor.


	2. Chapter 2

**Note: i realized that my Chapters are written kind of short. I guess I just end each section where it feels best to end, but I also like to continue writing so I could post several chapters each night. **

Chapter 2- The Trial

Plutarch didn't have any answers for me then, he simply looked down with a grave face. Everyone then began to talk at once again. I followed Plutarch weaving through the mansion, the others turning in different directions as we headed deeper and deeper into the mansion. I was hoping we were making our way toward Katniss, maybe she would be held in an interrogation room with one of those two-way mirrors. When we walked into the final room I saw in it was a large oval table with many of the leaders of the rebellion already waiting. After the death of Coin nothing could begin until a new leader was announced. An emergency election was held, and Paylor was voted in as President for the next 5 years.

Finally as we now had a leader they could begin to talk about other matters. First on the agenda was how to proceed with the first case of murder. It was decided that Katniss Everdeen would be subject to a full trial, this would set the tone of the entire regime.

The trial lasted longer than I ever could have imagined. No one seemed to be able to agree what to do with the girl on fire now that the war was over. Dr. Aurelius was one of the star witnesses on behalf of Katniss and persuaded people that she was not a murderous lunatic. At first I went to the trial, each day consisted of everyone dissecting every aspect of who Katniss was. They played videos over and over of her games, the propos, and even some footage they had found in Snow's files. They dissected every move she had made and every word she had said. First I went hoping to see her, to see Katniss brought out to speak in her own defense. As the trial dragged on I realized that was not going to happen and that was when I stopped going as well. I watched it play out on television, all that was left was to hear the verdict.

It was decided that Katniss would return to District 12, the word banishment danced around in my head and others, but never reached anyone's lips. I turned off the TV once the verdict was given and looked over at my communicator. I had taken it off days ago and refused to read any of the messages. They wanted me in District 2. There was work there for me. I still hadn't figured things out about the bomb that had killed Prim. She had always been like a little sister to me, and without knowing for sure that I had nothing to do with the death of her sister, I had no chance of ever even speaking to Katniss again.

Katniss was going to District 12, to live out her days without family or friends. I would go there in a heartbeat and live with her; hunting in the woods, building fires to keep us warm, slowly growing closer to her, but I knew that would never happen. She was too stubborn and hurt from her loss, it would never be like it was. I couldn't face going back there knowing I would be able to see her but she would never again look at me and smile. The life I had imagined with Katniss was over, and I would have to learn to move on without her. Maybe they would be able to fix up Peeta and she could live out her happily ever after with him. That thought still pained me.


	3. Chapter 3

**It has been a long time since I have updated. I have had most of this written for quite a while but I really didn't think that anyone had been reading so a big thank you for my first review. I know now that people are reading and it gave me the spur I needed to finish the Chapter and begin working on the next. **

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Chapter 3- New Job

Starting my life over began simply as accepting the new role the rebellion leaders wanted me to play now that the war was over. They needed me in District 2. This was the home of the peacekeepers before the rebellion. There was still all the training equipment there and it was a perfect headquarters for training soldiers. Since Paylor became the new president she has decided to keep trained soldiers ready to go out at a moment's notice if needed. There was little fear of another war so soon after the last one. We were in a rare time of peace. But some day people would forget about the horrors and the loss wouldn't hurt as much anymore, and people would grow restless.

It was to be my job to train new initiates and some of the advanced ones. Most people recognized me which made the life of a soldier seem more appealing than it was. I was to actually spend little time training, and more time being the spokesperson for the soldiers. First order of official business was to generate a new name for the soldiers. We could not keep to peacekeepers as they had been called as this provoked too much fear and resentment.

I worked closely with Plutarch, as he was the director of communications, and all official statements went through him before being aired. I had imputed a few suggestions but in the end it was a panel that decided upon the new name. It had been decided the new name for the soldiers was to be Shepherds. It was based on the idea that the people of Panem would be their "flock" and it was their duty to care for and protect them, always looking out for their best interest above all else.

Plutarch messaged me on my communicator after the name had been decided, as it would now be my job to inform the people of Panem about their Shepherds.

**SOLDIER HAWTHORNE REPORT TO CAPITOL 09:00 FOR DEBRIEFING**

I sighed as I read the flashing screen. I tapped the screen with my finger to clear the message. I hated it when they referred to me as "soldier" still. It felt like I was back in 13. I laid back on my bed, looking over at the clock. 18:00. Good I would have time for a nap before I needed to catch the train to the Capitol. I hated it there. They had done a good job trying to rebuild after the war, but it had only been a few months now. Most of the original Capital natives had been relocated into other Districts to help them rebuild. I wouldn't have said this would have been a good idea. The people from the Capitol had never really had to work a day in their lives, and they were used to having more than they could have ever needed.

I laid my arm across my eyes, effectively shutting out the remaining light.

I awoke with a start. There were no dreams for once. Usually I am plagued by nightmares of Prim as the bomb went off. Her screams ringing in my ear. Katniss was always there, her screaming blending with Prims until my ears felt like they were about to burst. But my sleep had been deep and restful for my nap and I was grateful. I looked over to check the clock again, 20:00. "Shit"

The train was scheduled to leave in 30 minutes and I had not even packed. I had no idea how long they were planning on keeping me in the Capitol. I hoped not long. I hurried out the door, shoving a small roll in my mouth as I closed and locked the door.

I ran to the train tracks and hopped on just in time. There was only a few minutes left until the train would be fueled and ready to leave the station. The Capitol was only a few hours away, I would arrive in the middle of the night. At least then I may be able to secure a place to sleep before my meeting.

Walking off the platform into the Capitol was as eerie as when we had first arrived to clear the city. There were no people running around. The air still held ghosts as many apartments had been left in a hurry. There were various items of clothing scattered along the road as people had grabbed what they could when they left.

They really had done a good job in the past few months attempting to rebuild the city, but the streets were still filled with the ghostly memories of their past residents. The capital now was the home only to the most important leaders and the crew assigned to clean up after the devastation of the war. The pods that had been hidden under the streets had done substantial damage to the surrounding buildings. There were hoping to get the Capitol cleaned up and ready for a larger population within a year.

I headed toward the mansion, one of the only buildings that had people in it round the clock. That was where I would have to meet Plutarch in a few hours anyway. It was 02:00, meaning most people would be asleep. As I walked through the city, heading deeper into the heart, I started to see more people. Cleaning crews were out, they are rebuilding the city from the center out.

The mansion was well-lit, even for the time of night. Even the walkway was lined with low lamps that appeared to come out of the ground. I still did not know my way around, through the maze of halls and corridors. I found bustling people scurrying this way and that, they were not very observant and my presence was hardly even noticed. I finally had to grab someone's attention by grabbing the hook of their arm as they walked past.

A slight girl, just recently titled with woman, looked to me and gasped. Her small frame made her look more like a child, but her eyes gave her away to be older than her build. Small blue eyes, wide with shock met my grey seam eyes. She brushed her long blonde hair from her forehead as I muttered an apology. Before she had even uttered her first condolences I had already measured each of her features against those of Katniss, this young woman had lost in each category.

"I'm sorry to have startled you, I am scheduled to meet with Plutarch in the morning, but I just got off the train, any idea as to where I should meet." I used my most formal voice, placing authority that I felt I did not truly deserve.

"Umm, I...I don't really know." She stammered the sentence looking anywhere but at me while she spoke. "I guess you could just kinda, maybe walk around a bit?" She stammered on.

"Thanks" I grumbled to her, then turned and walked away. Maybe I had used too much "authority" in my tone and scattered her thoughts. No matter, she would clearly be of no use to me. I would figure out for myself something to pass the time before my meeting. All I really wanted was to find a place to sleep for a while.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 - Dreams

There were chairs and benches placed sporadically throughout the halls as I wandered through the maze of a building. I dared not to walk too far into the place as I feared that I would become lost and not be able to find my way out. As I continued there were fewer and fewer people scuttling about. I looked to my communicator to see what time it was, 04:00, I could get a few hours of shut eye before having to meet. I guess there would be no better place to lie down than in one of the oversized chairs. I found one at the end of a corridor resting near a large picturesque window overlooking an unkempt rose garden.

The chair itself seemed to be comfortable enough though it was Capitol designed with ostentatious patterns. The fabric was at least soft to the touch, and being oversized, I was able to fit into it with some ease. It was not long before I drifted off to an uneasy sleep.

_Her hand caressed my cheek it warmed the skin beneath. Her grey seam eyes looked into mine, looking deeper as if my thoughts were being projected there. I reached my hand up touching her face, running my thumb from cheekbone to her upper lip. Her olive skin soft against my calloused and worn hands. Her lips parted a fraction at my touch Her scent wafting to my nose, smelling of the trees that had grown outside of District 12. I felt a stirring inside, I could never get enough of her smell. I leaned in to kiss her lips, testing first to see if she had forgiven me. _

_I leaned in antagonizing slow, not wanting her to be startled. I was hoping I was not misreading the situation. "Please let me be right about this" I thought a silent prayer and I closed the distance between our lips, noticing how her lips met mine calmly. My hands moved around to the back of her head, but I felt no hesitation or attempt to turn away. I was kissing Katniss Everdeen and she began to kiss me back. The soft and gentle kiss had bloomed a slow moving heat through my body. She was not pulling away, she must feel it too. I deepened the kiss, our lips moving against each other's in uniform rhythm. I could smell her more intensely now as our breaths mingled with each other, my tongue extending out to lick her lips and she greeted me with her own._

_Her hand had weaved to the back of my head, combing my hair with her fingers and pulling me into her deeper. I could feel myself growing and I wanted badly to press myself against her, I needed the friction. My hand traveling down to the small of her back and I pressed her body against mine. She let out a small moan with me as more than our lips were now touching. A small smile breaking out across her lips. She pulled back slightly, I opened my eyes to look into hers. Asking permission to continue. She smiled wide this time and I felt myself let out a sigh. Her eyes drooped as she looked back to my lips and leaned in again. I was not met with her warm soft lips, instead I felt a pinch of pain and the slight metallic taste of blood. _

I opened my eyes but instead of seeing Katniss I saw the first rays of the sunrise peeking through the buildings. I blinked a few times to clear my head and cleared my throat with a grunt. I looked around and the hallways were as empty as they had been when I first laid down. My mind was still racing through the dream I had been awoken from. This one had been different than the usual dreams that had plagued my mind. It was like the dreams I had before the 74th Hunger Games. I used to dream of Katniss, holding her body to mine in the seclusion of the woods.

I looked to my communicator 07:30, at least I hadn't overslept and missed my "debriefing". I tried to push the remnants of my dream from my head as I pushed myself up from the chair. I would have to try to make my way back to the busier parts of the mansion to figure out where I needed to be.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 - The Meeting

Plutarch found me before I had been able to weave myself back to the main entrance. "Nice to see you on time, hope the trip here was a pleasant one." His hand rested upon my shoulder as he gave me a short squeeze.

"Yeah, it was good. Got in early this morning and I really wasn't sure where to go so I crashed in one of the chairs in a hallway somewhere. Hope no one minds." I said hoping it would spark the conversation about where I should go since the girl last night was unable to give me any information.

"Oh, yeah, no that's fine. Usually people just pick one of the abandon homes to settle in. Most of them are unlocked and there is no one here except the cleaners and us." Plutarch gave me a smile. At least now I had an answer.

"So, just go into someone's house and make myself at home?"

"Nothing to worry about." Plutarch chuckled to himself. "All the houses are going to be rebuilt and then reassigned anyways. If there are belongings left, chances are those people are not going to be coming back to get them."

He left it unspoken but the reality hit me easily, he means they are probably dead.

"Well you might as well follow me, I am always up early. Don't worry, it means the coffee will be fresh." With that Plutarch turned and walked down the corridor and turned into a room. I followed along behind him, eager for the day to be over with.

The smell of fresh coffee hit me as soon as I walked into the room. It was a small room with a large table consuming most of the room aside from the cabinets along the wall where the coffee pots were lined on heaters. Apparently the one thing decision makers needed most in the morning was coffee and after having been denied their caffeine buzz in 13, they had made sure they would not have to suffer a morning without it.

I grabbed myself a cup, I had only had a couple of hours sleep total and sleeping in a chair really shouldn't count. I watched as Plutarch destroyed his coffee with cream as well as a few sugar cubes, making the black liquid turn golden in color. The other's began to find their way in, and I was pleased to see that we would be starting on time.

"So," Plutarch began, "we have decided on the new name for our soldiers. What do you all think about Shepherds?" He glanced around the room expecting approval. I think I am the only new member of the group and the question was more of a formality.

"Honestly, I think it's shit." I didn't even realize I wanted to say anything and then it was just out of my mouth. All attention turned to me and Plutarch looked at me expectantly, hiding a smile. His fingers were laced together around the cup of coffee as he urged me to continue.

I hadn't really thought about even saying it out loud, let alone have any reasoning to back up my statement, but now everyone was looking to me. "Well." I began trying to clear my throat and give myself a moment to consider what I was about to say. "The whole thing where we give soldiers pretty names just feels kind of fake to me. It feels like something the old Capitol would have done, like "Peacekeepers" it was a pretty name put on an ugly job to make some people sitting in cozy chairs feel better about themselves." With that everyone shifted guiltily in their seats. "They were not there to keep peace no more than these people are really shepherds. Why do we have to decorate things to disguise what they really are, why can't we just have soldiers?"

I look down at my coffee, there is still steam rising but I force myself to take a sip. The hot liquid burns its way down my throat giving me something to focus on other than all the eyes that have turned to me. No one seems to know what to say, and why should they? I just told them their brain child of the past few months not only was a stupid idea, but that the entirety of their project was misguided.

Everyone was waiting for someone else to speak and the silence dragged on for longer than I could handle. I took another sip of my coffee with a wince, hoping they would get the idea that I would not be next to speak. Plutarch came to my aid to begin the conversation but I was nervous as to what he of all people was going to say.

"See Gale, this is exactly why I want you for this job. Everyone else here seems to think that nodding and agreeing is the best way to not make waves. We just survived a war, now it is our turn to shape and mold Panem into the kind of place we want our grandchildren living in. So you don't like the name, you don't think we need a name at all." Plutarch paused to drain the last of his coffee, I guess the heat had not bothered him. "I for one agree."

There were murmurs around the table and they seemed to favor what Plutarch just said. I guess he was right he was sitting at a table full of men and women that would not question what they were being told, they would simply agree.

"As long as that is settled I guess we are done here for the day." Said Plutarch as he dismissed everyone. I looked to my communicator 09:15, wow that did not take long at all. "Oh and Gale? Please stay back with me, I would like to know your thoughts on a few things." Added Plutarch as I had begun to get up. Guess I won't be getting out of here so easily.

"So you hated my idea." Started Plutarch once the rest were out of the room, he had gone back over to the coffee pots to refill his own cup. Maybe the mixture of cream and sugar cooled the coffee because he took an eager sip.

"Yeah, I guess I did. I just... I think there are more important things to focus on right now. We need to rebuild not only the Capitol, but also the system and the people. Dedicating months of time and energy into a name when there are still bodies laying unburied seems a bit...stupid." I had gotten to know Plutarch well enough in the time I spent in 13, and I know that he favors blunt honesty, but no one wants to hear that their ideas are stupid.

Plutarch's eyes narrow as he considers me and what I have just said. "So what do you think we should do instead? I mean I get what you are saying, but I can't exactly show the unburied bodies on TV. I doubt that will be met with a warm reception."

"No I agree, but we cannot ignore the problems that still lie in front of us. We are training soldiers, yes, but what do we want those soldiers to do? You wanted to come up with a name that would tell Panem what they were, why not show them instead? Peacekeepers did not keep the peace, a name does not make someone into something, actions do. If you want people to love their soldiers, have them out fixing up the city."

Plutarch considered by speech that came out of nowhere. I had no idea what I was going to say until the words had begun to run out of my mouth. That Cheshire smile crept upon Plutarch's face, he knew that I was right, and he knew just how to spin it for entertainment. He walked back to my side and grasped my shoulder like he had done this morning. "You, my boy, are perfect. Go on home and I'll message you when I am ready." He said while tapping on my communicator. I guess I am going back to District 2.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 - Back in the Capitol

I did not have to wait long in District 2 until word came in that not only I was to report back to the Capitol, but also that I would be taking some of the trained soldiers with me. I had just begun to get back into my routing of living in 2 when the news came in. Now I would have to go back to that damned city. I had no say as to who would be joining me on our trip, or what my directive was when I got there. The train ride there was even more uncomfortable that the first trip as now I was in the company of both new and veteran fighters. We sat in silence looking around at each other's faces. None of us knew what we were being called to do, so frankly we had nothing to say.

We got off the train, at least it was day this time. There was no noticeable change to the city, but I could not help the feeling of déjà-vu from when I was brought here with Katniss. No, I would not let myself start thinking of her again. I would not wonder about her living back in District 12. Was she going into the woods every Sunday hunting alone? Was she thinking about me, and all the times we spent in those woods together? I had to put a stop to my wayward thoughts before they could take hold of me again.

"Any idea where we are supposed to go or do for that matter?" asked one of the newer soldiers. I think his name was Brad or something like that. I had watched some of the training class he was in. He had golden eyes under a thick mop of brown hair that spilled over his forehead. He was no older than 18. He had been a resident of District 2 before the war, and stayed on joining the ranks after the fall of Snow. He hadn't needed much training since he was from a career district and had been taught how to fight since he was little. The only thing he needed an education on was not to be so damn cocky all the time.

"Shut it Brant." Said Collins, our leader for all it was worth. Brant not Brad, damn, at least I was close.

We stood around patiently, waiting for Collins to clue us in as to what we were doing in this lifeless town. He stood there looking expectantly from face to face. He was a short stocky man, being a soldier all his life back in 13. He had no dreams of being in command of others, but no one could deny his natural ability to lead and his no nonsense attitude. Once he had the full attention of everyone, only then did he begin to explain. "We have been brought here because we are brave." He looked around to the faces of some of the newer soldiers, we all knew that statement was a lie. I tried stifle my laugh with a cough. A smile etched out on Collins face as he continued, "That is a bunch of horse shit but don't tell any of those pretty boys back in the big white building that." A collective laugh escaped all our lips because we knew Collins was right.

"So," he continued, "they claim that there are lots of dangers that face the cleaning crews. Unopened pods that just burst open their horrors upon the unsuspecting, innocent, cleaning crews. Even though...all the pods have been deactivated. Even though... they have Snow's maps that show the actual pods and their contents." Collins looked to each of us again. I could tell I was really going to get along with this man. You could not pull anything on him.

"Now the job falls to us, we will protect those that cannot protect themselves. We will tell them, stop don't step there! All under the watchful eyes of a camera crew. We are going to be the hit new reality show!" Everyone laughed again and the air had finally become relaxed.

We all calmed waiting for the rest of our directive. "As for our accommodations for the evenings, we will be rooming in the wonderful vacant homes near the center of the Capitol. You may pick any dwelling you want just make sure you are reporting every morning at 08:00 sharp. Now if you will follow me I will show you to your block." Collins turned and walked away into the heart of the city and we all trudged behind.

"This will be our block. There are enough apartments for each of you to have your own, but if you want to room with someone else because you are scared of the dark, be my guest, but no one is cuddling up with me." The buildings that stood before Collins were just beyond the blast zone that killed Prim. Those apartments were some of the worst damage, and the main focus for the renovations. Occasionally more remains were discovered inside those buildings. I was glad that we would not be rooming in those buildings.

I picked an apartment on floor level toward the far side. Most of the others grouped together in the same building, packing themselves closely together. Yeah we are a bunch of brave ones, I joked to myself. This was one of the few floor level rooms that did not have a broken door, I tried the lock and the knob turned freely. Walking into the room there was a small foyer with a mirror to my left and a closet for shoes and coats to my right. There were already shoes and coats in place, guess this was one of the homes of those not returning for their belongings. Judging from the look of the garments in place this home was previously occupied by a wealthy woman. I wonder what other kinds of Capitol luxury I would find here.

As I venture further into the home I am greeted by a cozy living area. There is a large sectional sofa, white and soft. Like the hide of a buck once it has been cured. There was a large rug underneath the couch stretching over the wood floors. The rug was dark and contrasted against the stark white of the couch. The couch was facing a large fireplace, it looked more like a giant flat television but I could see what appeared to be logs. As I touched the flat surface I could see that the logs were no more than a hologram. There were buttons on top and as my calloused fingers brushed them an image of fire leapt onto the logs and a warm breeze flowed from the picture.

Turning my back to the fireplace there was a bathroom off to the right. It was a simple wash room, likely used for guests. Behind the couch was a formal dining table, it was too large for the small space it occupied and allowed for little room to walk around. There was an island counter which separated the dining room from the small kitchen. There is a sink, a fridge with a glass door, and a large silver box. The silver box contained dishes that were unclean I wonder if all Capitol people just put there used dishes in a box like this to be disposed of later.

I checked through the cupboards and am pleased to find they are still fully stocked. There are canned good stocked so abundantly it could have fed a family in the seam for at least a month, 2 if they were careful. Rage swiftly begins to creep into my blood, the familiar heat washing over me like waves on the ocean. These people had lived with their pantries fully stocked while ignoring the starving people in the outer districts. All this food was for one person, and I bet she complained about the lack of food in her fridge.

I closed the cupboard and walked away before my temper got the better of me. To the side of the kitchen was a small hallway that lead back to the bedroom, I knew there would also be an adjoining master bathroom. I dropped my small duffel bag on the dining room table and left the house to report the housing I have chosen. There would be no real need to lock the doors as there were so few people in the city anymore, but Collins wanted us to report our apartment number to him so he could know where to find us to kick our asses out of bed if we did not report promptly in the morning.

"Hey boss, 42" I shouted to him. He was standing with a clipboard and looked my way then nodded. I wouldn't have anything to do until tomorrow so for now I guess I would be checking out my new living area. There was no way I was going to go and hang out with any of the other soldiers, not yet at least.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N This chapter gets a bit steamier and that is going to be the general theme of most of the rest of the chapters, there will be lemons, M rating will be earned. If this is not your thing, stop now and make up the rest of the story in your own head. **

**Disclaimer: I still own nothing, I do no own the Hunger Games nor any characters in it, or their likeness. This is again, merely for my own enjoyment. **

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Chapter 7 - Visitor

I headed back to my house. I wonder how long we are going to be here. Are they just trying to get enough footage to make some kind of commercial or are they really going to follow us around like some kind of reality show? Who would even watch that kind of thing anyways? I kicked off my boots when I walked in the door. I had left the fireplace on and the room had become comfortably warm.

I wandered over to the kitchen, my duffel bag on the kitchen island, I moved it to the dining room table. Why would I even put this here in the first place, it was just in my way. I opened the cupboards looking for dinner. The heat of rage was lessened this time as I already knew what the cupboards held. I found a can labeled _Beef Stew. _At least they had some normal food. I popped the top on the can and looked around to find a container. At least all of our apartments had power in them so I wouldn't have to eat it cold.

I sat at the island by myself eating my dinner. At least my stomach was full and I was not subject to meaningless conversation. I think I will make tonight an early night and catch up on some of the sleep I have been missing out on. I unwound laying on the couch staring off into the illusion of fire. Watching the way the flames dancing across the logs. The illusion was a good one, you could barely even tell the flames were not real. I felt my eyes begin to droop as I sat in silence feeling peace. "Guess I should get off to bed." I said to myself.

I walked back to the bedroom. In the bottom of the dresser I found an extra bedding set. Happy I wouldn't have to sleep wondering who was in the bed before me. I stripped down to my boxers, then remembered that I had not locked the front door. Last thing I needed was someone sneaking in during the night to fuck with me. I went and locked the front door then came back and crawled into the freshly made bed. There was enough room to sprawl out and I quickly lost myself to sleep.

_Katniss was sitting on our rock, it was an early Sunday morning. The sun had not yet emerged from the horizon but the sky was lightning and I could see her small figure curled into herself, waiting patiently. I snuck up behind her, and she shifted slightly to the side to allow me more access to the rock. She had known I was here. I sat down next to her. She did not look over to me and continued starting straight ahead. We watched the sun rise together. I kept looking over to her hoping she would look over at me. I had missed her eyes, eyes that looked just like mine except with a fire behind them that always burned. _

_Finally her head turned and those fiery eyes met mine. She stood up and offered her hand to me. I took her hand in mine and got up. Without a word she started to walk, pulling me along with her. I fell into stride beside her and her fingers laced into mine. I felt an electric current run through my body. We walked hand-in-hand silent. Katniss lead me through the woods until we were standing in front of the cabin her father used to take her to. She dropped my hand and slowly walked into the cabin leaving me staring after her. I took a deep breath and walked into the cabin. Only once I walked in I stepped into my apartment here in the Capitol. She was lounging on the white couch staring intently into the fire._

_She smiled at me and held her finger up, bending it toward her, beckoning me to come to her. I walked over slowly, taking my boots off by the door, letting my jacket fall to the floor. The fireplace was clearly on here as it was rather warm inside. There was no room to sit beside her as she was laying across one whole side of the couch. One leg was slung over the back of the couch. I slid between her legs, covering her body with mine. "Katniss" I sighed as she reached her arm around the back of my head, pulling me closer to her as her lips captured mine. This was a hungry kiss as if she had not eaten in days and my mouth provided for her exactly what she had needed. She ran her tongue across my bottom lip then pulled back to bite my lip, sucking it into her mouth. A low growl came from my throat and I would not hold back anymore, she had given me all the permission I needed. _

_I came back into the kiss with new fervor, letting my tongue lick her lips as she parted them for me, allowing access. Our tongues met and dance, stroking and tasting each other. She tasted like the woods, a more powerful version of how she smelled. My left hand slid down her body, feeling her curves. The way the cloth of her shirt pulled tighter over her breasts. My hand found her hip and my thumb circled her bare skin between her stomach and the waist line of her jeans. She moaned against my lips and I pressed my hips into her. Letting her feel my growing erection. She pushed her hips back in response, grinding herself into me. I broke from the kiss gasping for breath. I pulled away slightly so I was hovering above her, our hips still pressed together as she continued to slightly grind into me. I wanted to look into her eyes. I needed to confirm again this was what she wanted. I had imagined this so many times, but she was always the one I was waiting for to be ready. _

_She was breathing heavy and her eyes were darkened with need. Her chest rose and fell rapidly with her breathing. She wanted this, needed me, and I needed her. But I needed this to be done right. I leaned down slowly brushing my lips against hers for a sweet gentle kiss. Then I pulled back to sit up, breaking the contact our body shared. She looks confused but does not say anything, asking instead with her eyes. I stood and offered her my hand, she took it as I pulled her to standing. I wrapped my arm around the small of her back and pressed her lightly to my chest. My right hand moved up to her hair, as I smoothed it down. My thumb running along the side of her face. She closed her eyes and leaned into my hand with a content sigh. I moved my hand underneath her chin and tilted her head upwards while I leaned down for a soft kiss. _

_Heat flared through me again as the kiss instinctively deepened. Our tongues meeting again. Hands trailed down her back finding her ass. Each of my palms taking a cheek, giving her a light squeeze. I swiftly picked her up and her legs wrapped around my waist. We kissed as I carried her back to the bedroom. The door was closed so I pressed her back against the wall while one hand turned the knob to open the door. Her legs let go of my waist as she slid down my body to standing. I pushed her back against the wall again, a bit harder this time. My hand going to her breast above her clothes. I massaged her breast, I could feel her nipple was hard and straining through the fabric. I pinched her nipple between my thumb and pointer finger tugging lighting before rolling it, coaxing a loud moan from Katniss. I returned her moan with an appreciative groan. _

_I stepped back slightly lowering my head and closing my eyes. I needed a moment to contain myself, I had to make this perfect. In that moment she lightly slid her finger tips across my chest as she walked into the room. I opened my eyes and my gaze followed her as she looked over my room. She was standing at the foot of the bed, back facing me. I came up behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist, kissing her neck. She leaned her body into mine and turned her head, exposing more of her neck to me. I took my time kissing, licking, and sucking my way up and down her neck. My hands were busy roaming the front of her body, feeling as she moans and arched. _

_My hands felt their way back up to her breasts again. I was granted better access from this angle and I cupped and massaged both simultaneously. I was able to harden both nipples, tugging and pulling on them through the sheer fabric of her shirt. She moaned and arched her back, pushing her breasts further into my hands. Turning her head the other way, our lips connected. Her tongue explored my mouth with breathless kisses, moaning into my mouth, squirming against my body. She turned then so we were standing face to face. The fire in her eyes was now blazing and dark._

_She reached around to the back of my head pulling me down into a kiss, this one was no longer gentle Katniss was taking the lead. She turned our bodies while ravishing my mouth, backing me up to the foot of the bed before pushing me down on it. She climbed up on me as I scooted up near the headboard. With a leg on either side of me, she settled on my waist, grinding her body into me. All thoughts of taking things slow flew from my mind. Right now I wanted her, I wanted to feel her, taste her, bury myself in her. _

_My erection was now straining against the hard material of my jeans. Throbbing with each pass of her hips. I reached for the hem of her shirt, pulling it up over her head. My hands found their way to her braid and undid the tie, letting her long brown hair flow around her shoulders. She leaned down to kiss me, that's when I felt the cold sharp pain of metal on my neck._

I opened my eyes, awoken from the dream. I couldn't understand what was happening, I was awake, or at least I thought I was. But the dream was a mirror of reality as astride me sat a thin but shapely figure, long hair cascading down her shoulders. Holding a long, sharp knife to my throat. Only the slightest pressure would cause the blade to break my skin. "Katniss?" I gasped.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 - Visitor

"Nope" replied the figure, you could hear the smile in her tone. I wish it was lighter so I could see who my attacker was. I was sure that I did not recognize the voice. "Did I interrupt a pleasant dream?" she coaxed. She was taunting me.

"Actually yeah, I was having a pretty damn good time, then I wake to some psycho bitch with a knife against my throat, and I don't even know her name." I snap back hoping to throw her slightly, but she remains unfazed. I think she is actually enjoying this.

"My name is not important, don't worry pretty boy, you have never met me. But I do know who you are. You're the "cousin" Now why would the "cousin" wake up with a hard on thinking Katniss Everdeen was riding him...hmmmm?" She cocked her head to the side as she asked. Yeah she was definitely enjoying this.

"How about you tell me what you are doing in my house, and while you're at it, care to explain why you are on top of me?" I am not about to go into the whole Katniss thing with a knife pressed to my neck.

"Well for starters, you are the one in MY house. Sleeping in MY bed. So I guess I will ask you the same, what exactly are YOU doing in my house? Oh and why I am on top of you.." She swivels her hips seductively "It's more fun this way."

"I thought all the capital born were relocated during the construction." I was really confused now, I could see how coming home to find a random person crashing in your house would be unnerving, but there shouldn't have been anyone still living in these homes.

"Oh no, I'm not from the Capitol. I have merely claimed this for my own. Why do you think there is so much food here, I have gathered from the other abandoned homes. Then I come home one day, through the back door and find someone's things all over the dining room table. So I went through your bag found this lovely knife." As she says this she twists the blade slightly causing a bead of blood to trickle on the sheets. "You never could have guessed how surprised I was when I saw exactly who was in my bed though."

This girl was clearly crazy, and now she had actually cut me. I had to do something before I got stabbed in the chest. She had kept moving her hips the entire time she was talking. No matter how bad the situation the constant rubbing continued my erection though it was not as hard as it had been. She was toying with me, teasing me. Insults had not distracted her, but something else might.

I began moving ever so slowly, my arms staying where they were. I didn't want to move too fast and cause her to panic and cut me more. My hips just began to sway with hers, pressing myself into her. She shifted her head to the other side like a dog that doesn't understand.

"Now what to do, what to do, what to do. Watching you sleep, I knew it would be oh so easy to kill you. I could take your things, keep my house, and dispose of your body like the others. But then there is the complication of your friends out there." A slight moan stopping her train of thought as a bucked lightly into her. "So, I thought maybe, we could, um, we could come to an understanding." This was exactly how to regain the upper hand.

I slide my hands up her calves. Reaching up to her thighs. She squeezed them together at my touch. The knife was still tightly pressed against my neck, but she was losing focus. Another part of her body was taking over control. My hands continued their journey, moving up to her hips. My fingers tightened as I flexed my hips into her, grinding my erection right into her sweet spot. A low growl resonated from her throat and finally the blade slipped contact from my skin. Hands still on her hips I flipped her over pinning her beneath me and grabbing her hands in my own.

My hand squeeze around the wrist holding the knife until her grip loosened. I was easily able to contain both her hands in one of mine so I could toss the knife out of reach and then turn on the side lamp. As light filled the room I got my first look at my attacker.

She was roughly my age, 18 or 19. She had long flowing hair, but it was a deep red, almost like the color of blood. Her eyes were a brilliant green, like new leaves in spring. Her skin the color of cream that Plutarch liked so well in his coffee. She was much shorter than I, shorter than Peeta even, maybe 5'3". She was small, clearly she had not eaten enough most of her life. Even without proper nutrition she had the body of a woman with orange size breasts and curvy hips. She was wearing an outfit of tightly stretched black clothes. There were various straps and holsters holding all kinds of weapons, but she clearly favored knives.

Her eyes had widened in surprise but she had lost none of her fire. "Oh I see, you like to be on top. I guess I can make do with that." She was still taunting me even though she was now my captive.

"My turn to question you, who are you? What district were you from before the Capitol fell? Why are you here now?" She looked defiantly at me then spat back the answers.

"Let's see, that's none of your damn business, what does it matter, and fuck you...that enough answers for you?"

"Look, right now all I know about you is that you have hidden out in abandoned apartments and you tried to kill me in my sleep. I should just drag your ass outside and hand you over to my superior. I don't know what they would do to you and now I don't really care." But I did want some answers. And handing her over to Collins would guarantee that I never got them. With her attitude they would decide to just lock her up somewhere, or send her out for "re-education" or something like that.

The girl looked like she was considering something. She moved sharply underneath me but I had felt her tense a second before she had moved. My reflexes are great and I had plenty of time to anticipate her movement keeping her trapped. She was not going to get away, she would have to start cooperating.

"Fine." she huffed. "My name is Phoenix, I go by Fie. I am originally from District 4. When the Capitol fell I hopped on a train and came straight here. None of my family is alive and I didn't want to spend the rest of my life fishing so I came here. I didn't really have a plan except I wanted a new life. I was expecting to find more people like me, but instead there is nothing here except cleaning crews and politicians. So I decided to kind of do my own thing while the city is getting cleaned up. Figure it out later."

"Well Fie, it has been interesting to meet you." I almost wanted to laugh, she's just a girl who wanted to escape her life and found out she has no idea what she is doing. I took a chance and let go of her arms and quickly hopped off her. She scuttled away from me as soon as she realized that she was free. She hopped off the bed and stood next to it, rubbing her wrists. Maybe I had held them a little too hard, a red bruise looked to be forming there.

"Ok, now your turn to answer some of MY questions, remember you are the one that crashed in my house." She said matter-of-factly to me, like if she talked with power I would forget that I could pick her up with one arm. I decided to humor her for a moment longer. She was definitely interesting.

"So I know that you're the "cousin" to Katniss Everdeen the victor of District 12, but I could tell right away that was some bullshit, especially with you moaning her name in your sleep. So who are you really? And what's with all the uniforms showing up here, taking over my building and all."

I didn't really want to answer any questions about Katniss, but that would likely end up worse for me than if I just answered. With a deep sigh, I began "Katniss isn't my cousin, we were best friends. I guess they were worried about her having a male best friend and how it may have affected the "star-crossed" lovers thing so they just played me off as her cousin to make things easier. As far as who I am, my name is Gale Hawthorne. I am a soldier for the new Panem. I am here under orders of Plutarch who wants me as well as the others to go around helping with the Pods while they record us for a reality TV show." Once I said it out-loud it seemed even more ridiculous that hearing it in Collins' sarcastic tone.

"I see" was all she managed as a response. After a moment she decided to speak again. "Well, I guess we need to figure out what we are going to do about you crashing in my place and all. And of course, not turning me in to your leader."

I choked back a laugh, "Well sweetie, this is my apartment now, officially and logged. It wouldn't help you out with not being caught if I were to have to move apartments. So I guess that means you will have to shove off somewhere else, and then as long as you don't bother me anymore, I will consider not telling my Captain about the little incident tonight.

Fie narrowed her eyes at me. "No." She said simply.

"Fine, I guess I will just go and get Collins and tell him there is an intruder here and we can just have him get rid of you for me." I was seriously considering it now, maybe then I would have some chance of getting a little sleep tonight.

We both stood there staring at each other, waiting for one to make a move. She was still armed with several knives in the holsters of her outfit, but I was nearest to the door. My eyes flickered to the door, estimating my chances of making it through the doorway before a well thrown knife could hit me. "Wait!" she screamed holding her hands in front of her.

"I, umm, I can help you. With your mission, I mean. I have lived in this city moving through the alleys for months now. I have been in every building, and down in every sewer path. I know where all the pods are, which ones still have live dangers and which ones are clear. I could help you."

"Yeah well we have maps that show us everything you could offer so really you have nothing I need." Clearly she was not going to be talked out of her place and I would have no choice but to turn her over to Collins.

"Please," she asked. She pleaded for me to listen, and I could not help but want to see what else she could offer for me. "You wouldn't have to tell anyone, I would stay here, hidden. I will cook and clean, and you can talk to me. Tell me where you have been during the day, where you are going next, and I will tell you everything you need to know about the area. I just want to start a new life. I'm sorry I put a knife to your throat."

I put my hand up and pinched the bridge of my nose while closing my eyes. I inhaled deeply trying to weigh my options. When I opened my eyes, she had not moved, she really was begging for my help. "How am I supposed to trust you after what happened?"

"I guess we will just have to work on that. We can take turns sleeping in the bed or something. I'll leave my knives in whatever room your sleeping in, whatever it takes. I just don't want to have to start over again. This is the closest thing I have to a home." She had a point, I really didn't feel all that threatened by her. "Fine, I'll try it, but one step out of line and I'm kicking your skinny ass right out that door, and I don't care what happens to you."

"Thank you" she says as she bounces on the balls of her toes. It makes her boobs bounce up and down, they are nice. My hand goes up to my neck to check if it is still bleeding, my hand comes away clean. At least the cut was shallow. I could play it off as a shaving nick.

"Oh! She squeals, here let me clean you up, it's the least I can do." She seems like a different person now. Energetic, bubbly, and petite. I wonder where the confident, stubborn bitch went. She snaked around me into the bathroom and came back with a wet wash cloth. "Sit down on the bed so I can reach." She said softly but there was an air of orders in her voice. I was curious to see exactly which personality was the real her. She was different from anyone I had ever met before, and I wanted to know more about her.

When she finished cleaning me off she looked perplexed. She didn't know what to do, just standing in front of me, holding a damp towel stained red by my dried blood. Swiftly she brushed her lips against mine and then straightened back up. "Thanks again." she said as she walked back into the bathroom to take care of the towel. Once she was out of the room a exhaled the breath that had been caught in my throat.

When she came out of the bathroom I was still sitting on the bed, looking at the door. "Here," she said laying her knives on the table by the bed. "I'll sleep on the couch tonight. I'll lock you in." She walked to the door and turned the lock before shutting herself out. I laid back in the bed, and looked over to my communicator. 01:00, I would get 6 hours sleep tonight. With a crazy knife hording woman in the next room. I guess no one could say my life is boring.

* * *

**So just a question. What all do you think about Fie? What would you like to happen, because I know where I think I want to go, but I want to know what you all would like to read as well. Thanks so much for reading!**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 - The Morning After

My alarm went off at 07:00 just as planned. I sat up, I was feeling a bit groggy. Man did I have a weird dream last night. I was glad to have a bathroom in my room because I could go and take my shower without having to cross the entire apartment. I turned on the water, nice and hot. We never got to have hot showers like this back in the Seam. I took my time as I knew I had plenty before I needed to walk out my door. I didn't like to rush in the mornings, I was not going to be one of those sloppy people who jumped out of bed, putting their clothes on and walking out the door.

I love taking showers. I have plenty of time to think and win imaginary arguments with myself or others. There was no argument to have today, instead I focused on my strange dream last night. It had started out so great. I closed my eyes and tried desperately to feel Katniss' lips on mine. It was so real, and I was just getting to the good part when, Katniss pulled a knife on me. Wait.. no, it wasn't Katniss, not really, it was someone else.

I turned the water off in a hurry and jumped out of the shower. How could I have forgotten my unwelcome visitor last night. Fie. I wonder if she was still out there. I looked in the mirror quickly and saw the cut on my neck, evidence that the night's events were not simply a dream. I changed into my standard issue uniform from yesterday and saw her knives still sitting on the nightstand. I took a moment to find the knife she had held to my throat, the one I had thrown across the room. This knife was mine, it was in my duffel bag along with my...guns!" I had left the duffel bag out in the dining room last night where she stayed. I took the knife and put it in the back of my pants, leaving my shit out to let it cover the handle of the knife.

I unlocked the door and slowly opened it inch-by-inch, peering out before deciding it was safe enough to leave the room. I tip-toed down the hallway. Maybe she would still be asleep on the couch. I came to the end of the hallway, the couch was far in front of me, but I could not see if she was there or not. She was somewhat small and could be tucked into the couch which would not be in view from here.

"Good morning." Called a voice to my left making me jump a little. She was in the kitchen. Only then did I realize that the house smelled different. It smelled like food, she was cooking.

"Um, morning." I stammered as I walked around the corner. She was there in the kitchen cooking pancakes. I glanced to the dining room table and my duffel bag was there, zipped shut. But that did not mean that she hadn't already taken something out and then closed the bag back up.

"I took one of your shirts since you were sleeping in the room that has all my clothes. I hope you don't mind, but I figured I would make breakfast if you did." My eyes shifted back to her, she had been in my bag and she could have one of my guns hidden in her pants like I had my knife. The kitchen island was in my way of viewing her bottom half, I would have to get closer to see if I could notice a bulge.

"Thanks for the breakfast." I muttered, trying to seem a bit more groggy and less suspicious. I shuffled over to the island and sat down at the bar. My eyes widened as I realized that she was not wearing any pants at all. My grey uniform was baggy on her and hung down to the middle of her thigh. The rest of her legs were bare.

"Do you like pancakes?" She asked while flipping one.

"Yeah, pancakes are fine." I replied. Her mouth turned down with the simplicity of my response. I think she was trying to start a conversation.

"Do you like coffee?" She asked.

"Yeah, I love coffee. Straight up, I never liked cream or sugar in it. Makes it too sweet, I enjoy the bitterness." She seemed happy to have more elaboration to this question. She turned and reached up into one of the cabinets. The hem of my shirt lifting with her reach exposing nothing but a pair of sheer black lace underwear. There was no room for a hidden gun there. I calmed a bit but found myself unable to look away.

She finally managed to grab the can of coffee, it had taken her some time due to how short she was. She went on making me a fresh cup. I felt like I needed to say something.

"So what are you going to do all day while I'm out clearing the city?" She handed me my finished cup of coffee with a smile. Wow capitol machines really are a wonder if they can make coffee that fast.

"Well I figured I would just do my normal thing. Usually during the day I have been systematically searching the abandoned homes for valuables and food. I bring what I find back here and that's pretty much it. Every now and then I find a dead body or limb or something, so I drag it into the sewers. There are still some creepy things down there and the bodies disappear by the time I bring another."

I nearly choked on my sip of coffee. "What? You find bodies and just shove them into the sewers? What about letting them be buried?"

"I said limbs too. There are quite a bit of remains lying around this place, and not all of it makes for something identifiable. I just get rid of it before bugs and other things come to get it. I mean it's already been a couple of months, there are plenty of insects and things getting into the rot. But I'm telling you there is something down there in the sewers that is taking whatever I bring to it, and I would rather bring it things than have it finding its way up here to take what it wants." She said plainly. It was obvious that dead and rotting things did not bother her, but she also had no feeling about it either. I had been here that day when the bombs exploded. I knew some of the people who died. How many of my friends arms or legs had she carried off into the sewers?

"Well," I said looking at my communicator 07:30 I was going to be early but it was better than staying in the house talking about bodies, "I'm going to have to get going. I should be home around dinner time. So I will see you later?" I asked. Maybe I would come back to the house for a lunch and lock her out of the house.

"Sure." she said going back to turning another pancake. Her mouth turned down again, I had not even eaten any of the pancakes. I felt a little guilty for putting that look on her face.

"I guess, I have enough time to eat a little before I go." A smile danced its way across her face as she made me a plate of food. She watched as I took my first bite. She looked nervous, which made me nervous. The pancake was hot and fresh. It was airy and had a slight taste of lemons to it. It was wonderful. I smiled genuinely. She exhaled happily.

"These are good." I managed before putting another bite in my mouth.

"Thank you." She said as she turned her attention back to making the rest of the batter.

I didn't understand why I felt the need to make her smile. She nearly killed me last night, then she kissed me. I was worried that she might have hidden a gun, then was aroused more than relieved when I saw her stretch revealing nothing sinister hidden. She told me she removes dead bodies to a mysterious creature under the city, but I didn't want to see her sad about an uneaten breakfast. I don't understand this at all. I need to just make a decision, either I want her gone or I am going to trust her enough to stay. The answer should be obvious, I should just inform Collins and he could get rid of her and I would not have to worry about her sneaking back anymore.

I looked over to Fie who was focusing intently on the pancake. She was watching the bubbles that formed on the surface with a kind of science and determination. She cared about how they were cooked. Her long red hair slipped from behind her ear as she tilted her head downwards, and she quickly reached her hand up to tuck it back again. Her skin was still light like the color of cream. I bet when she blushed the warm red blood would fill her cheeks. I wonder what her skin would feel like to caress.

I guess I could let this play out a little longer. I finish my pancakes and she takes the plate from me to put into the metal container full of dirty dishes. Maybe people from 4 were used to throwing out their dirty plates as well. She hit some unseen button under the handle and lights began to flash and I could hear the sound of water rushing in.

"It washes them, isn't it neat" She exclaimed watching my interest in the machine. "Well you better get going. I wouldn't want them breaking in because you're late and finding a random girl in your house with you. I don't think you would want to have to explain that either."

I got up and went to my bag on the table. All my guns were neatly in there as I placed them when I had packed. The only thing missing was one of my shirts, which she was wearing, and the knife in the back of my pants. I strapped all my guns on and headed for the door.

"Have a good day at work, dear." She teased as I went out the door. It was nice to see the playful side to her reemerge.

"Looks like someone had a good night's sleep. What's with the shit-eating grin Hawthorne." Barks Collins as I approach him.

"Nothing." I respond simply. For now Fie will be my little secret.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10 - Pods

In the morning we all gathered in front of the apartment buildings where Collins was standing, waiting. The camera crew were already there in their bug like suits waiting for their day to begin. I was the first to arrive at 07:50, the others stumbling out their doors a few minutes later. Brant was the last to show at 07:59, we was obviously one of those that woke up and left. His brown hair sticking up at weird angles and large bags under his eyes. He gave a sideways smirk, pleased with himself that he was not late.

"Good morning soldiers." Collins began. For a man of such short stature he was able to command with nothing more than the strict tone of his voice. "I hope you have had a restful night's sleep because now the real fun begins. Nice of you Brant to join us, and may I say you look rather camera ready."

Brant's smile slipped as he reached his hand up to smooth down his hair. Clearly he had forgotten that we were going to be filmed.

"We will be working from the center of the city outwards in a radiating fashion. If we do not encounter any problems we should be able to clear the city in a few weeks. Most of these streets have already been cleared and work will begin shortly on tearing down the old buildings. Our apartments will not be touched yet. I will let you know when we will be moving into other buildings as we make our way further out of the city. These.." said Collins as he motioned to the 3 camera men behind him "are our film crew. Knowing media people, they will be getting in our way, putting themselves in unnecessary risk, and being a general pain in the ass in order to get the perfect shot. We will have to be babysitters to them, and make sure they come out of this safe from their own stupidity."

The bug like crew was not happy when Collins said this, but it didn't make it any less true. I had seen camera crews like this before with Katniss. Collins was right, they will put themselves in harm's way to get the perfect shot, but unlike Collins I did not see this as stupidity, I had seen real bravery in the actions of the camera crew.

"So when do we get our close-ups?" Asked Brant as he struck a ridiculous pose. It was like he was trying to be Finnick, God's gift to women and only wanted this opportunity to get with some ladies. Several of the other younger soldiers laughed at this, but myself along with some of the other seasoned fighters scowled. Collins was not a young soldier, he did not laugh.

"Oh you think you're funny don't you?" Said Collins walking right up to Brant getting in his face. "We may be on a stupid assignment but you will always remember you are a soldier first and I expect you to act like it. I will not have you disgracing the uniform you wear for a slight chance you get too hook up after this, do you understand me Soldier Adams?" Collins glared into Brant's eyes until he shifted down out of his line of sight. Like a dog learning who is the pet and who is the master.

"Oh come on, this will also be fun, and what a great chance to showcase just how _desirable _it is to be a soldier." Purred a new voice coming from behind us. I turned to see a woman with shoulder length pink hair strutting toward us. "Hello everyone, my name is Amithy Rose, I will be your, " She paused and narrowed her eyes slightly, "director."

"Great." Mumbled the soldier next to me.

Amithy began her speech walking up and down the lines of soldiers, purring her words at us. "As Captain Collins was saying, we will be showcasing your heroic adventure through the city. This is all about you, we want to show all of Panem just how brave, heroic, and desirable it is to be a soldier of this great nation. We no longer want the citizens to fear your presence, rather we want them to become overjoyed by your presence. We will make you as loved as our victors were." Amithy stopped in front of Brant and smoothed down the side of his hair that refused to cooperate. Under her touch the hair obeyed. "There, that's better." She purred again. Brant's cheeks blushed crimson as he looked down shyly.

Collins cleared his throat, trying to clear the air. "Alright soldiers, let's move out."

We started out only a few blocks down from our apartment buildings. Collins produced a small electronic map that projected into the air the info structure of the section of street we were in. "This boys will be our first obstacle of the day. Com tells us there is a deactivated pod 30 feet in front of us. It was triggered by pressure sensors. There are explosions hidden under the road, every 5 feet until the next intersection. Once the pressure sensor is activated all the bombs will explode simultaneously, leaving any one in a 50 square foot area without limbs. We will be reactivating the pod and then remotely triggering the bombs. So if you like explosions as much as I do, this should be fun." Said Collins with a mad grin.

"What about the cleaners?" I said to Collins. An explosion that big would certainly devastate the surrounding buildings. If someone were to be inside, someone like Fie, they could be hurt or killed.

"The cleaners have all been rerouted to other buildings for their safety." Said Collins, clearly wanting to get back to blowing things up.

Fie wasn't a cleaner, she wouldn't have known to stay clear of this area. "But what if someone didn't get the news, shouldn't we make sure to clear the buildings first. I mean.." I was struggling to find the words I needed without telling him about my visitor. "We don't want to accidentally blow some idiot's leg off on our first mission. People aren't like us, they are stupid."

Collins considered my words and then decided I was right. "Split off." He yelled. "There are 3 buildings on each side of the road, they will all need to be systematically searched and cleared of idiots before we can set off the explosions."

We divided up and searched the buildings, there was not anyone found. Collins was frustrated with the amount of time we had taken to do the search but at least I felt better knowing that Fie was not in one of the buildings.

It was nearing mid-day when Collins reactivated the pod. He stood smiling with anticipation. He held on to his thin electronic map with the now active pad blinking orange in the sky. "You all might want to back up, this should be fun." Announced Collins widely with fire in his eyes as he pressed the orange sensor on the map.

The explosions produced a wave of heat while shaking the ground we were standing on. Windows rattled and then burst open, raining shards of glass down into the street. We were all back far enough, with Collins the closest. He laughed wildly with a huge grin on his face watching the fireball recede. "Well boys, I don't know about you but I think I'm ready for lunch." Said Collins as he turned and marched away. We followed behind him heading back for the apartments.

"Alright let's see, it is 13:12, lets meet back at 14:00 sharp." Said Collins as we disappeared into his building. The bug-like camera men started the tedious task of shedding their equipment, buzzing to each other about the great footage they got.

I walked away from the group to my apartment on the far end of the building. I was happy that everyone else had decided to stay closer to each other and further from me. As I entered the door I heard a squeal as I was enveloped into a hug.

"I was so worried, I heard the explosion and the ground shook so bad. I hurried back here and waited for you. I figured you would have a lunch break but you took a while to get back here. I was worried you were hurt." Said Fie, her arms still wrapped around me. I just stood there in shock from her excitement from seeing me, not returning her hug. I felt a warming sensation of relief knowing that she was ok, and had not been anywhere near the explosion sight.

Fie released me and stepped back after I had not returned her embraced. She looked shy and embarrassed as she took a step back. Her arms folded in front of her chest, closing herself off from me. She had changed out of my shirt, and was wearing a dark green tank top with light tan shorts. Her hair was pulled back into a long pony tail.

I shuffled forward a step and enveloped her into a hug of my own. I was overwhelmed by how happy I was to see her. She wasn't expecting this, but slowly wrapped her arms around me into a small hug. "I'm happy you're ok too. I was worried you were around the pod that exploded." I said into the top of her hair. A whiff of her hair filled my nose, she smelled like cherries and mint.

We released each other and stepped away just a step. Standing closer than we had before the embrace. "I made sure that we cleared the buildings before we activated the pod. The cleaning crews had all been informed that we were going to be doing some blasting but you wouldn't have been told. I...I was worried for you." I stated simply.

A smile etched across her face. "Aww, were you worried about me?" She teased.

"A little." I answered mischievously. I liked the way she teased me, it was playful and challenging. I always have loved a challenge. "Mostly I came back because I was hungry." I toyed, mock hurt registering across her face.

"I'll get you something to eat then." She said as she sauntered toward the kitchen, swaying her hips as she walked. I couldn't help but to stare at her ass as she walked away. Her shorts ended right below the bottom of her cheeks. The fabric stretched across her curves, slightly darker than her milky skin. She looked back across her shoulder beckoning me to follow. My mouth had gone slightly dry from her seductive show and I had no words to answer with. I willed my legs to move and followed her into the kitchen. A triumphant smile across her face.

She made a simple lunch, turkey sandwiches with cheese and pickles. I smiled into my bread, not telling her it was one of my new found favorites since getting out of the Seam. I had only had this simple meal a few times in District 2 as it was considered plain food that most people stayed away from. I wondered how she had access to meats when there had been no fresh food coming into the city for several months. Aside for the workers in the mansion of course.

I checked my communicator 13:28, I still had a while until I had to go until I was due back. "When do you have to go back?" Fie asked as she finished her lunch.

"Oh not for another half hour or so. Enough time for us to get to know each other a bit." I answered getting up to go and sit down on the couch. Fie cleared our plates and then came to sit next to me. She sat on the other side of the long couch, curling her legs up underneath her.

"What would you like to know?" She asked, green eyes searching my grey ones.

Looking into her eyes was like looking into the woods in the early morning of a crisp spring day. I thought I could get lost in those eyes, they reminded me of home. The reminded me of Sunday morning hunts with Katniss. Maybe that was why I wanted Fie around, she reminded me of Katniss in strange ways. They didn't actually look anything like each other but they were both incredibly strong for their size. Fie was feisty like Katniss, but playful, which Katniss never was.

Fie cleared her throat as I had taken a lot of time lost in my own thoughts, ignoring her question. "Sorry I was just thinking about what I should ask you." I responded hoping she could not see my thoughts through my eyes.

"Would it be easier if you were on top of me like last night? You didn't seem to have a hard time coming up with questions then" She smirked back.

This is what I like about her. A small flicker of heat rushing through my body as I was reminded of last night. The knife falling away from my memory. "Maybe we could arrange that." I said back. Why couldn't I come up with better responses. They flowed from her soft pink lips so easily, but mine took too much thought and all the wrong timing. I frowned to myself.

Fie adjusted herself and moved closer to the junction between the sides of the couch. She was not touching me but I could feel a current stretching across the gap begging for our skin to connect. _Katniss. _My subconscious hissed at me.

She put her elbow on the back of the couch and then rested her head in her hand. Looking up at me with her eyes, she looked like she was begging. I imagined momentary those eyes looking up at me from between my legs the same hungry look in them, only hungry for me. "So?" she asked.

"Umm." I had no thoughts of questions for her. Not now when my thoughts were roaming somewhere else. "During the first few days of my job, would you mind staying home while I am out? I just don't know what kind of damage we may end up doing to the cities and I really wouldn't want you to get hurt." I blurted out, the only appropriate thing I could manage.

My question took her off guard. She was expecting me to dive into her past. Not me guarding her safety. She blinked a few times then answered "Sure, I mean your presence here changes everything anyways. There are more people out and about, the chances of me being spotted are higher. So it's in my best interest to stay out of sight. I could always go exploring in the night anyways."

Her answered relieved me, I wouldn't have to worry about her being in danger. I looked down at my communicator, 14:05, "Shit." I jumped up off the couch. I had not realized time had gotten away from me. I was late.

"I got to go, I'm late." I offered as an apology for startling her.

I hurried out the door to find Collins on the other side about to knock. "Sorry Sir." I mumbled to him before quickly closing the door so he couldn't peer inside.

"MmHmm." He grunted as a response and then followed me to the line of soldiers waiting. They were trying to stifle a laugh, great, now I looked as bad as Brant.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N Lemons**

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Chapter 11 - Questions

The rest of my day went by quickly. We went back to the crater that we had caused before lunch. Most of the flames had extinguished themselves. There were a few rouge flames that attached themselves to the sides of door frames, looking for fuel to keep alive. We examined the damage, it was our job to make sure all the bombs had exploded so someone wouldn't accidentally stumble upon a live bomb.

The camera men looked bored, there wasn't anything fun or exciting for them to film. They sat around cleaning their lenses over and over. Before long the sky began to darken as the sun sank beneath the western ridge of buildings. Collins told us to pack up and go home. "Report back tomorrow morning 08:00 sharp. No more tardiness for you Hawthorne." He said with a smirk. I was hoping to escape without chastisement about lunch.

I headed home and my heartbeat quickened. I was excited not to go home to an empty apartment. I would have several hours alone with Fie before I had to go to bed. The thought excited me. I walked in the door and I could feel the fireplace was on as a warm breeze greeted me. Fie was sitting on the couch, legs crossed, looking expectantly. She had changed since I saw her last. Her outfit clearly capital made.

She was in a tan fur coat with a hood covering her red hair. A fuzzy halo of fur surrounding her face. The coat was long-sleeved and had tufts of longer fur around her wrists as well as the bottom hem. It looked like she had nothing on under the coat, it fell slightly above her knees and there was nothing covering her legs until you got to her calves. She wore flat boots that were covered in the long shaggy fur of her coat. I couldn't see how this could be used practically, unless there were some warm pants to go along with it. Then possibly it could be used in the snow. If the fur was treated properly so water could not soak in. I doubt it was.

Fie smiled when I entered the room and studied her outfit. "What do you think about my outfit? I thought you would like it since you had the woods out by 12. It reminded me of hunting." She said slyly, fidgeting with the hem of her coat.

"Well I would never go hunting in something like that. Wouldn't want someone mistaking me for a bear and getting an arrow shot at me." I thought of what Katniss would say if she saw me wearing something like that. She would never stop teasing me until I took it off. It wouldn't have taken long either. I secretly enjoyed any time I got to take my clothes off in-front of her. The way her cheeks would turn red and she would look away.

My tone must have been harsher than I meant for it to be. She looked down sadly at her outfit, her smile failing. "I'll go change then." Fie said in a flat tone. I must have really hurt her feelings, I didn't like that I hurt her this way. I must be more careful, she is more fragile than the tough playful exterior. I think I have finally figured out what kinds of questions I want to ask her, but I have to fix this first.

"I didn't mean that I don't like it." I said as she stood. "It looks great on you, I just meant it wouldn't be practical to wear while hunting. You look really good actually. Is that real fur or a synthetic? I wonder how water proof it is." I was rambling.

Fie smiled kindly, accepting this was an apology of some kind. "I bet your hungry, let's get some dinner." Fie announced as she walked around the couch into the dining room, heading for the kitchen. As she walked past the trim of her coat brushed my leg, sending shots of electric current straight to my crotch. I got up to follow her, drawn by an invisible string. The coat hung shorter on her back-end, needing more length to go over her curves. I could barely see the bottom of her cheeks poking out from under the fabric.

"Sit back down, I will tell you when dinner is ready." She announced halting me in my tracks. I didn't know where to go, I wanted to follow the path of the invisible string but she told me to sit, and I didn't want to upset her, again. I chose to listen and went to sit back down on the couch. I lounged more this time with one foot up on the couch, laying my body back with an arm cradling my head. I stared off into the fireplace as I had done the night before.

Before long Fie was calling me for dinner. I have no idea how much time has passed, I was content watching the flames doing their dance. She had my plate set at the dining room table with hers in the place next to me. She made a wonderful dinner of canned Lamb's stew, I remembered how well Katniss talked about it. It was her favorite. With a side of peaches.

"Thanks for dinner." I was able to manage after a silent dinner. It had not been an awkward silence, we were each just appreciating our meal. She cleared the plates as usual.

"Don't be getting too used to this hand served crap. I'll teach you how to wash the dishes too." She said playfully. I would never dream of having her wait on me hand and foot, I am not that kind of guy. But today has been nice, I could see how some guys could get used to it.

I stood and went back to the couch, sitting up more this time but relaxing into the bend of the couch. Fie came and sat at the other side of the bend, we were almost touching as she wrapped her legs underneath her again. I closed my eyes for a moment feeling content with the heat of the fire and the fullness of my stomach. Fie waited patiently for my eyes to open.

"I thought up some questions for you." I announced with my eyes still closed. I opened them to peek at her reaction.

"Oh darn, I was hoping I would have to get you back on top of me." She pouted her bottom lip and it looked sexy as hell. "Ask away, I'll tell you anything you want to know."

"Well, your different from any other person I have met. You're strong but fragile at the same time. You can be playful and full of confidence, yet you shy away when hurt. Don't think I haven't noticed the skimpy clothes either. Is that just to throw me, or do you enjoy showing off your body?" I hoped I wouldn't offend her by my observations, but I was curious.

"Well that's only one question. I guess to answer your unasked questions, I have been hurt a lot. I have no family left, I lost them all in the war. District 4 was one of the first to rebel, we had a lot of fighters but we had a lot of luxury as well. Our District was fighting itself as much as it was the Capitol and my parents sided with luxury over freedom. I didn't feel the same way as them and I wanted to leave to join the fight. My parents wouldn't let me, and locked me up in the basement instead. They were killed when the rebels took over, but no one knew I was locked in the basement. Lucky for me that was where all the canned food was stored but I didn't know how long I would be down there so I had to be very careful. When the war was over and the rebels were clearing houses getting ready for the Capitol citizens to move in, that's when the door was unlocked. I had been down there for months, and was running low on food. I hid when they came down the steps, I didn't want anyone to see me like that. When they left I snuck upstairs and that night I hopped on the first train that came. I ended up here in the Capitol and I have done my thing since. So I guess you could say I'm pretty fucked up." I stayed silent for a few moments letting her story sink in. "So, on your real question." She said, her voice perking up. "I dress like this because I want to get your attention. I would say I made a pretty bad first impression with the knife, and I want to build a new impression. Not of someone to fear, or of someone who is weak, I think we could be good for each other if you let me."

"Wow." Is all I can manage. "It must have been hard being locked up for so long, and by your own family."

"No, don't start that." Her voice had now become sharp. "Don't you dare pity me. I got out, I'm fine. You wanted to know why I am so different, that's why. But don't you dare look at me like some wounded animal you need to nurse back to health."

"I...I wasn't, I didn't.." I didn't know what to say.

"How about you, huh? You want to tell me your life story? How about we talk about Katniss, you sure talked about her a lot last night when you were sleeping. Why didn't you run off with her to have your happily ever after, or did she actually pick the baker's son in the end?" She said with malice in her tone.

The questions cut straight into my heart, resurfacing the piercing pain I had run from for so long. That was why I had run away to District 2 in the first place. The truth is Katniss had chosen Peeta, or at least she hadn't chosen me. With her choice I had nothing left, I had no home, no family, no love.

"Yeah, she did" I said quietly looking down.

Fie moved quickly to my side putting her hands on the side of my face to pull my eyes up to meet hers. "I am so sorry." She breathed. "I can get cruel when I'm defensive, I never should have said that."

I tried to look down again but her hands remained on the sides of my face. She looked deep into my eyes, searching for something but I don't know what. Suddenly she closed the distance between us and met my lips with hers. She moved her lips against mine. I did not have time to think, my body taking over and reacting for me. My hand reached to the back of her head crushing her lips against mine as I breathed in her sent. Cherries and mint, it made my mouth water.

I opened my mouth and she followed suit, my tongue meeting with hers in the middle. Her body moved closer to mine as she crawled into my lap, placing one leg on each side of mine. I pushed her hood down so I could get to her hair. Pulling it out of its pony tail. Her hair cascaded around her face a red hood which suited her better than the one made of fur. My hands fisted into her hair and I twirled my fingers around grabbing hold to pull her head back. My lips traveled down her jaw till I got to her neck. I began licking, sucking, and biting at her neck. Producing a moan from her.

I smiled into her neck, traveling my way upwards to her ear. I sucked her lobe into my mouth and was surprised to find cold metal in my mouth. I had not realized she has pierced ears. I licked my way up the side of her ear counting the piercings. 1..2..3..4..5.

She moaned again as she started to grind her body into mine. My lips returned to hers as she finished her moan into my mouth. My hand in her hair controlling where she was. My other hand slipped down to her back. Pressing her into me, if only she didn't have that damn coat on, I could feel her breasts as they pressed into my chest. I worked my hand lower where I knew the coat would no longer hold me back. I ran my hand down to the hem of her coat which was only covering half her ass in this place.

I was surprised to find that she had underwear on, I had figured she was naked this whole time. My fingers let go of her hair as I had found something new to play with. I took both hands and grasped her ass hard. She moved her lips down to my neck and was sucking and biting me. Coaxing a growl deep in my throat. I pushed her ass with my hands, grinding her into my erection. I just needed to feel friction there. I haven't even had time to masturbate lately. She responded with a moan and I couldn't help but searching with my lips to find hers again. I loved to taste her moans.

She began to move on her own, grinding into me, my hands helping her to move with the pressure I needed. "Oh Katniss." I moaned and all movement stopped. It took me a moment to realize what I had said.

"I'm sorry, we just, we were talking about her and I..." She placed a finger to my lips to hush me. I searched her eyes looking for anger or hatred but finding neither. Her eyes were still dark with want but kind and gentle.

"It's ok," she purred, "I can be Katniss if you want." She said against my lips as she leaned in for another kiss.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:The chapter you have all been waiting for, so warning, adult language, sexual situation and all that fun stuff.**

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Chapter 12 - Decisions

Fie pressed her lips tightly against mine trying to continue the rhythm we had set before the interruption. My body wanted to continue but my mind would not let me. I didn't feel the same as I had before. There was something about her indifference that bothered me. I would have preferred a rage. No one should be ok with being someone else.

I had not even realized that I was thinking about Katniss. I had not been purposely imagining Katniss is place of Fie. It bothered me with how ok Fie was about it. It showed her desperation to be with someone so badly that she didn't even mind if they were fucking someone else in their mind as long as she was receiving the touch. I couldn't be that intimate with someone that unstable.

Fie slowed her attempt when she realized I was not kissing her back. She sat up so our mouths were no longer touching. She still did not look angry, I would have felt better if she was angry. She was still so warm, her eyes soft in the glow from the fire. "What's wrong?" She talked as if to an injured bird she happened upon in the woods. How could I tell her without hurting her feelings?

"It's just a little weird for me that's all. I wasn't imagining you were her or anything, I don't know why I said her name. I was expecting you to be mad and instead, you encouraged it. I don't know..."

"You think I'm pathetic." She said looking down.

"No, no, that's not what I'm saying." She was right though, that was how I felt about her. As I said it I knew it was a lie and lowered my gaze, unable to look her in the eye while I lied to her. Fie got up off my lap and went to sit down on the couch. She tucked her legs up underneath herself, this must be the way she was most comfortable.

"I understand why you must think that of me, but I don't think you actually understood what I meant. It's not because I am so desperate to be with you that I would be ok pretending to be anyone else as long as I could have you. Sorry good-looking, but you're not THAT hot." She giggled a little when she said it and I was able to look up at her while she spoke. "I meant it when I said I thought we could be good for each other. There is clearly some unresolved shit with Katniss you need to clear up, and I need to learn to let people back into my life. So if pretending I'm Katniss for the sake of getting your shit sorted helps you, while I let you in...my life, then we are both better."

"I don't really think pretending your Katniss is going to help me." I said simply. "I want to move on with my life, not find a substitute. I couldn't really ever be happy with that, it would always be like second best and wishing it wasn't."

"Ok." Fie said playing with the hem of her coat. "Where do you want to go from here?"

"I think we should get to know each other a little first. Take things slow, sound good?" I can't believe I am acting like this. Impulse control is not one of my strongest suits. Maybe Fie means more to me than I care to admit to myself.

Fie surprised me by standing up off the couch, walking back over to me. Standing in front of me with renewed fire in her eyes. "No that doesn't sound good at all, I want you and you want me too." She said straddling me once more and possessing my lips with hers.

I was no longer hesitant. She was right, I did want her, and I just said how I wanted to move on with my life. Maybe she was desperate, but so was I. Our tongues met and clashed against each other like waves breaking on a rocky shore. This had nothing to do with love, this was pure need.

My hands quickly found their way to the front of her coat, ripping the buttons that held her body captive. I pushed the coat off her shoulders, letting the garment fall to the ground. I felt like a child on Christmas morning, her breasts wrapped in a thin and nearly transparent lace that matched her small underwear. I had presents to unwrap and play with all night long.

I raised both my hands to each cup a breast. They fit perfectly in my large hands. I used my thumbs to massage and harden her nipple through the sheer lace. Fie arched her back and moaned. Her red hair so long that the ends touched the top of her butt cheeks. I groaned in response, I could feel myself getting hard again.

I pressed my lips to her chest, inhaling her scent as I kissed and licked my way to one breast. I used my nose to push down the cup, freeing her breast. I sucked her small puckered nipple into my mouth. My tongue flicking across the tip, rolling her nipple between my lips. I coaxed more moans from her as she pushed her breast further into my mouth. I gave her nipple a hard suck before releasing it and moving onto the next breast to repeat the process.

Fie's hands fisted through my hair pulling me into her. I repeated the process of worshiping her breast with my mouth and when I finished she pulled my mouth up to meet with hers again. "It's time for some of your clothes to join mine on the floor." She murmured against my lips, breaking the steamy kiss as little as possible. She hurriedly grasped the bottom hem of my shirt lifting it off me. Her eyes reflected the same kind of joy as mine must have when I removed her coat.

She ran her hands across my broad chest. Feeling the ripples and dips of my muscles. An appreciative and hungry groan coming from her throat. Her eyes are hooded and dark, possessed with lust. She bent down kissing first my neck then running her tongue slowly down to my collarbone. She stopped to give me a small bite. I growled back at her.

She continued her journey downwards, stopping here and there to bite and then suck gently at the wound. I am glad that my uniform covers my chest so tomorrow others would not see the marks she was undoubtedly leaving behind. She inched her way off my lap as she scooted down, gracefully landing on her knees on the floor. She was now at the waist band of my pants. She looked up at me, the light of the fire bouncing off her red hair. Her eyes were still hungry but also pleading. My heart is racing, my breathing heavy as she ran her finger across the my skin under the band.

I felt my cock twitch with her teasing. Fie's eyes met mine again with a devilish grin. She took one hand and massaged the bulge in my pants. An appreciative moan came straight from my throat as my hips pushed up into her hands. Fie leaned down to grasp the leather of my belt in her teeth and pulled. She worked with her tongue and teeth to unbuckle my belt with her hands massaging me through my pants. Fuck that is sexy.

"Fuck Fie." I gasped as her skilled mouth not only undid the buckle of my pants, but also unlatched the button and pulled the zipper down. Fie smiled, zipper pull still between her teeth. At least I got her name right this time. Her mouth release the metal and lightly kissed the bulge in my pants before taking her hands and pulling down my pants and boxers in one fluid motion.

My cock sprang free and she did not hesitate to grasp it between her small hands. She only hesitated then, looking at the tip of my cock, biting her lip and looking up at me. My cock twitched again in her hands, but her grip was firm. I just wanted to feel her lips around me. She was making me wait, knowing in this moment she controlled all the power just by controlling what was in her hands.

"Beg for it." She said biting her lip and then tracing the path of her teeth with her tongue.

"What?" I exhaled.

"I said, beg..for..it." She said purposely stroking my shaft with each word. I threw my head back to moan.

I snapped my head forward with new resolve, a growl emanating from my throat. "My turn." I said my mind completely clear for the first time in months.

I lifted her up from under her arms, pulling her to standing with me. I grabbed her hips firmly pulling her legs off the floor. Instinctively her legs wrapped around my waist as our lips found each others'. I carried her over to the dining room table, sliding the chair to the side with my foot. I set her down on the mahogany and positioned myself between her legs. I wrapped my arms around her and laid her down gently against the table. My hand traveling down to feel the wetness that had soaked the sheer lace.

Her back arched off the table as I continued to run my finger up and down the lace. Then I pushed the lace to the side so I could sink my middle finger into her center. I slowly pumped my finger in and out, watching as she squirmed and moaned. "More." She panted.

Deciding to be nice, I inserted my trigger finger along with the other and picked up the rhythm. Her eyes closed as she could no longer bear to watch what I was doing to her body. Her hand reaching up to cup her own breast and I watched as she rolled her own nipples with her thumb and pointer finger.

I withdrew both of my fingers and her eyes snapped open at my lack of touch. I sucked each of my fingers clean, tasting her. It was just like her scent but the most potent version. I hooked her underwear in each finger and she lifted her hips a little to allow me to slide the wet fabric off her. There was nothing more sexy in the world then that little arch of a woman's hips. It simultaneously granted permission and uncovered the most beautiful area of a woman's body.

Her underwear dropped to the floor beneath the table. I decided to leave on her boots as well as her bra as I loved the way they trussed up her breasts. I positioned each of her legs on opposite sides of the table. The short side of the table being the perfect length for her spread legs while causing her to be spread open to me. If I were to grab a chair and sit down I would be in perfect position to have a rather pleasant dinner. When the thought hit me, I decided that was exactly what I was going to do.

I pulled the chair back up to the table and Fie looked up at me, elbows resting on the table propping herself up, curiosity in her eyes. I sat in the chair holding her thighs with each hand. I ran my nose along the length of her folds inhaling her heady scent. It made my mouth water and I licked my lips in anticipation. I then began my feast and with a broad stroke licked up the entire length of her folds.

Fie shuddered and moaned as she sank back into a laying position letting her eyes close so she could feel more sensation when she was blind. I began to explore letting my tongue dip into the center before sliding up to the apex of her pleasure. Watching her writhe with pleasure before me whimpering was honestly the most arousing thing I have seen in my life.

Fuck she tasted so good I could do this all day long, but my cock was so hard it was throbbing to the point of almost pain. I growled to myself as indecision hit me. The sound causing me to vibrate against her had nearly set her over the edge. I knew she was close and I knew it would not take me long to catch up, so my decision was made.

I licked over her apex one more time causing a shutter to rock her body. I continued my tongue upwards dipping into her naval when I reached it. Her nipples were fully extended under her own master touch and I gave each a quick kiss before coming up to meet her gaze. There was one more permission I needed before continuing. She bit her lip and nodded but that was not enough.

"Say it." I told her, my voice husky and sharp.

Fie bit her lip again, shyness taking over her.

"I won't do it unless I know it's what you want, you have to say it or I will simply go back to what I was doing and then go to bed."

A smile etched across Fie's face, this wasn't what she thought I meant when I first said it. "Why I do believe I am in the presence of a gentleman. Well Mr. Hawthorn.." said Fie, wrapping her hand around the back of my head pulling me closer and then whispering into me ear, "I want you to fuck me."

I was already positioned and ready with one hand wrapped around my cock to guide it in. When she finished her sentence I was happy to comply slamming into her with full force. I mixture of pain and pleasure ripped through her scream. I stilled to let her get used to the feeling of having me fully inside her and I waited for her to be ready. Her breathing slowed a little and then she gave a small nod telling me to continue.

I started to move, slow and gently this time. Causing her breasts to sway in time with my thrusts. She began to meet my thrusts with her own, quickening the pace, adding more force. I grabbed her by the hips pulling her into each thrust as I set into a more punishing pace. She began to claw at my arms, moaning. I wanted so badly to taste her moans again that as her back arched off the table I scooped my arm under her back and pulled her to sitting. We were now face-to-face staring into each others' eyes as we continued at our pace.

Fie wrapped her arms around my back and my hands went into her hair Our lips and tongues met with such force I was sure they would swell. I began to truly fuck her and caught every moan and whimper. My own breathing becoming harsh, I knew I was close. My hand snaked its way down finding her apex with my thumb and I began rubbing circles in time with our thrusts. Her entire body began to shake and I could feel her tightening around me. She screaming obscenities into the air as she fell from the cliff.

I was not long behind her, pulling myself out to finish outside her warmth. I had not been quite ready for these kind of events but I would not risk finishing inside her. Fie fell back onto the table, exhausted and panting. "Fuck" she muttered.

My thoughts mirrored her words. I scooped her up into my arms and carried her bridal style into the bedroom. I laid her into the bed before going to the bathroom to clean up my mess. When I emerged from the bathroom Fie was already sleeping soundly. I crawled into bed beside her, we would have to talk about this later, but for now my muscles were made of rubber and I was deeply relaxed. I closed my eyes and let myself succumb to the peaceful, dreamless sleep.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13 - Morning After

I awoke to the sound of my communicator. Thankfully I set it up to wake me every day at 07:00 that way I would not have to set it each day. I turned off the alarm before the second beep, looking over to Fie who was still deep asleep next to me. She had fallen asleep so quickly last night she had never even put on clothes or adjusted her bra. Her breasts still exposed and the cover was pulled down just below her breasts. Her nipples are hard and puckered pointing to the ceiling. A smile etched across my face as I got up and went to the bathroom for my morning shower.

I decided to leave the door unlocked if she woke and wanted to join me. I looked at myself in the mirror and was surprised that I did not find terrible bags under my eyes. I had stayed up well past my bed time with our... activities. Hoping into the steaming water helped to soothe some of my aching muscles. I was used to training and fighting, but it has been a while since I have had sex, and those muscles were a little out of practice. I am in no hurry this morning and let myself lean against the tile, closing my eyes and finding peace under the cascading water.

We were going to have to talk about last night sooner or later. I do not regret what happened, even if I only knew her for one real day. It was true when I said that I was desperate. But we would need to figure out what kind of grounds that put us on. I didn't need her thinking we were going to get married or some stupid shit like that.

I turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. Shit, I really needed to remember to bring clothes in with me. I wrapped the lower half of my body in the plush Capitol towel before heading back into the bedroom. Fie was still in bed, but beginning to stir. I don't want this to be awkward, I should say something. "Morning." I said casually as I walked over to get the clothes from my duffel bag.

"Good Morning." Fie said with a smile as she stretched her arms above her, breasts still open to the air. She didn't mind being naked so I took that for a good sign. She moaned slightly as she extended the stretch, looking at me with a wicked smile. She was doing this on purpose, trying to coax a reaction from me.

"Unfortunately I do not have time for a repeat of last night, I have to be to work, but make sure you don't run off. I have plenty more tricks up my sleeve." I said to her, letting her know that I did not regret the night while heading back into the bathroom to change. My communicator said 07:20, at least I had not taken too long in the shower.

I was expecting to see Fie out of bed, or maybe even in the kitchen cooking breakfast like she was yesterday but when I came out of the bathroom she was in the same position I left her in. "What no breakfast this morning?" I asked her. Her returning smile let me know that she understood I was joking.

"Nope, I told you last night not to get used to me serving you. You're on your own today, and I am just going to sit and relax all day since I'm not allowed to go out anymore." Fie said lacing her fingers behind her head.

"Must be nice." I murmured to myself but loud enough for her to hear. I walked over to the bed and bent down to give her a chaste kiss of the lips. "I had fun last night." I said then turned for the door to find my breakfast before leaving.

My breakfast was simple, dehydrated eggs and jerky. This was more of what I have grown accustomed to. I have no idea where Fie finds all the perishables that she does. I head out the door, a bit of jerky still hanging from my mouth. I want to be plenty early today.

I showed up early, earlier than yesterday and no one else was there yet. Everyone else began to show up with only one or two minutes before they were needed to report. Even Collins himself reported barely on time. Though no one would ever give him shit even if he was late.

"Morning beautiful." Collins said as he passed me, double strong coffee in hand. I raked my hand through my hair, messing it up a bit. It felt as though **I GOT LAID** was written across my forehead. Normally I was not against sharing details of last night's escapades to my friends, but there was no one here I would consider a friend, and I honestly wanted Fie all to myself.

"Today we are going to sweep the next two streets. The pods there are reported to already have been destroyed, but we are going to double-check before officially labeling them as safe. Over the next week we will move in a clockwise pattern going around the center of the city before moving out and continuing our path around."Collins gave out the rest of the orders of who would be in each group and what our jobs would be for the day. I was in charge of group Beta, and Brant was in my group, great.

"So you think they put the young and good-looking guys together so the camera crew would know where to shoot?" Said Brant as we walked toward A-7, that would be our block for the first part of the day. I do not know how I am going to get through the day with his constant banter in my ear, but I couldn't help but notice he was right. The camera men were following us and no one else. Amithy Rose must have really liked Brant after all.

The block we were assigned was one that had poisonous darts that would be released from pods hidden inside the lights on top of the buildings. Our job today was to go to the rooftops of the buildings and make sure all the lights were smashed and any darts found remaining picked up. It was a boring day as most of the glass had already been blasted out, and any that had remained had been shattered yesterday when the explosion went off. There was nothing for us to smash on the roofs. Last thing we needed to do before we could go off to lunch was check the ground level for any leftover darts.

"Nothing over here." Said Brant as he kicked around some rubble on the street.

I hadn't found anything either, nor the other two men on our team. Looks like today was a waste of time. At least lunch might prove to be more entertaining. I kept myself busy enough that I had not thought much about Fie, but now as I was getting ready to head back for the house, my thoughts began roaming again. I would have an entire hour with her before I needed to be back.

Walking in the door to my apartment I looked around and did not see Fie. She was not anywhere that I could see. Maybe she decided to leave after last night. I decided to check in the bedroom, I did not think there was any way that she could still be sleeping, but since it was the only room I could not see from the main entrance, it was the only place left to look.

Fie was not in bed but she had made it before leaving. It looked like no one else was here but me. That was when I heard the faint sounds coming from the bathroom, water running. I guess she was taking a shower. I was left with a moment unsure what to do. I could check the knob, if she left it unlocked was that a sign that she was ok with me coming in? What if she had not expected me to get home for lunch so quickly since I was off late yesterday and simply didn't lock it because she was not expecting anyone? I think too much.

I went over to the door and knocked, "Hey Fie, I'm home for lunch, didn't want to startle you." I called as loud as I could. She didn't reply and I began to get a little worried. Had she hurt herself somehow, or did she not hear me at all? The water stopped and I stood back from the door not wanting to scare her if she had not heard me.

Fie came out with a towel wrapped around herself, "Hey, how are you doing today?" Fie said while crossing the room to the large closet.

I felt awkward. I couldn't quite explain but everything just seemed so normal and I didn't feel like it should. Fie was flipping through the clothes figuring out an outfit for the day. I racked my brain trying to find something to say about my day. "You can start going out during the day again, I found out the plan for which pods we will be reactivating first, so as long as you stay away from where we are you should be safe."

Fie looked back at me with interest, "Yeah?" she said raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah we are working from the Quartet Hotel clockwise before moving up a block then around again." She wouldn't know the quadrant names that we used to identify streets so that was the best way I could describe the path to her.

Fie had found an outfit and placed it on the bed. "Good," she said, "I have already searched most of those buildings. You would not believe what I found in some of those hotel rooms." As Fie said this she dropped the towel letting it pool to her feet while she slowly started to unbutton the shirt from the hanger. I couldn't help but stare at her exposed body. Last night I had seen her only in the flickering light of the flames, now the room was fully lit and I could appreciate the smooth texture of her cream like skin.

"Yeah I can imagine there might be some pretty interesting things in those rooms." I said, my voice sounding distant as I could not peel my eyes from her bareness. She was taking her time unbuttoning the buttons though she could have slipped the hanger through after just the first one was undone. She was slightly bent at the waist keeping the shirt on the bed. Her breasts were exposed to the air hanging beautifully from her body.

"Am I distracting you?" Fie said under my gaze. I tore my eyes away to look up to her face. She was smiling.

Her question spurred my reaction, while talking felt awkward, I knew what would feel right. I walked around the bed, Fie straightened as I approached her and we met with a passionate kiss. Her body folding around mine. I pushed her clothes off the bed as I sat her on the bed, legs still hanging on the floor. Her skin was chilled from being exposed to the air after her shower. My hand reached under her jaw to tilt her head to meet mine as I bent down to touch her lips with mine.

Our lips moved against each other's with less force, settling into a slower more appreciative pace. I licked her bottom lip asking permission to enter. She parted her lips and meet my tongue with her own. Our tongues danced as my hands roamed her naked body. I touched her with just the pads of my finger tips, sending occasional shivers through her body.

We were both breathing heavily now, as Fie broke the kiss to rest her forehead against mine. "I know we need to talk about this, but I can't help wanting you every time I see you. It's distracting." I said to her closing my eyes at my confession.

"I know, I feel it too. I don't ever want this feeling to go away." Fie said pulling me in for another kiss.

Fie slowly laid back, pulling me on top of her so we were both half laying on the bed. "I could get used to having a lunch break this exciting." I said breaking the kiss only to speak then resuming. This was the pattern we ended up settling into, breaking the kiss, murmuring something important then continuing on.

"I want you so badly, I haven't been able to stop thinking about last night." Fie said, I had to agree. At least I didn't have to wait long before feeling her body against mine.

"I laid in bed all morning thinking about it, I got myself so worked up I had to take a shower. At least the jets helped." Fie said as I groaned. I could only imagine the things she could have done in the shower.

"Wish I was there to see that." I said grinding myself into her so she could feel how hard I was already.

"I got mine while you were working, why don't I help you?" Said fie pushing on my chest telling me to get up. I stood up as she sat back up. Fie used her legs to curl around my calves pulling me closer to the bed. She used her hands this time to unbuckle my belt. Today she was not wasting any time, or asking me to beg.

She reached her hands into my pants pulling out my cock without ridding me of my clothes. She grasped at my erection, wrapping both hands around it firmly. Neither hand fit all the way around. Fie was not shy and she ducked her head down licking my tip. Her hair cascaded around her, blocking my view from what she was doing. I reached down to bunch her hair together in one of my hands, holding it to the side so I could watch.

Fie wrapped her lips around my head and sucked me into her mouth. Her hands began to move up and down with the bobbing of her head. Inside her mouth she moved her tongue in a wave-like motion creating a suction like feeling I had never experienced before. She moved her eyes up to watch me watching her. I moaned at the sight.

She looked back down focusing on her task at hand, and I found myself bucking my hips as she quickened her pace. My cock grew harder, like it was made of stone and I knew I was close. I had to warn her "Fie." I strained. She paid no attention to me and continued on with her pace, moving her hands up and down as quickly as her head bobbed and her tongue rolled.

"Fie," I said again with more force, "Fie, I'm going to come."

She met my gaze again and I knew she had heard me. The look she gave me spoke of nothing but hunger and lust. At that I lost all control allowing her to finish me in the way she chose.

For a moment my mind was completely blank. I couldn't see, or hear, let alone think. I had to shake my head to get back my senses. Fie had released me and straightened up. She looked rather pleased with herself. "Thank you." Was all I could manage.

"You're welcome." Fie said getting to her feet to retrieve the clothes I had tossed onto the floor. She changed with purposed now as I fixed myself into a more presentable fashion. "Well it is lunch time," said Fie, "and considering I had mine, I'll make you something to eat before you have to leave."

Fie smiled and walked out of the bedroom, heading for the kitchen.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N Sorry for the long absence. The first few chapter were easy, but from this point Gale kept fighting against what I was writing. He has his own idea of what happens next, so finally I caved and let him win. **

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Chapter 14 - Lost

The rest of my day passed quickly after lunch. Brant continued trying to make small talk with me. Amithy made a guest appearance and staged some lines for me and Brant to say while pretending to do something risky and heroic. We were told that the first shots from yesterday were finished being edited and tonight would be a few minute preview of the show. I found it hard not to roll my eyes as she spoke. She reminded me of the escort from twelve. Overly excited about things that really did not matter. Capitol people were all the same.

When I got home to Fie I was ready for a relaxing evening. It's been an eventful few days and I feel like some of the lust between us may have been extinguished enough for a few minutes that we may actually get to talk. But my first glimpse of Fie when I walked in the door proved this was not the case.

She wore the same button up shirt she had put on before. Light blue and made for a larger framed body. It hung low, landing above her knees. Her hair was pulled back loosely and swirled around its self so it wouldn't fall down her back. There were some stray strands hanging here and there which softened her features. She looked comfortable, which was even hotter than any of the other outfits she had worn before.

"Hey." I said softly entering the room.

"Hey." She said looking pleased I was home. "How was destroying the city after lunch." Fie said giving me a small smile from just the corner of her mouth. How could she always be so sexual? It was driving me crazy.

"It was actually a pretty boring day." I said taking a spot on the couch. I just needed to sit and relax for awhile. The world seemed to be moving too fast. I didn't want this night to slip away from me. I wanted time with this red haired siren, I wanted to know her.

"Did you get a chance to go out today?" I said patting the couch beside me. I hoped she would take the cue to come and sit. Fie seemed to understand just fine and crossed the room, slipping onto the couch next to me, curling into what I would have called an impossibly small ball for her size. She reminded me so much of a fox.

"I did, and I was able to bring back some surprises for you." She said, large green eyes staring up at me.

"Really? I can't imagine what kind of surprises you could have found for me in this place." I didn't think they would have any weapons or armor here. Things that Capitol people found to be cool usually ended up just making me mad.

"Yeah, but all in good time. I have dinner cooking, but it's going to be about another hour until it's done. what would you like to do while we wait." As she said this she drew lazy circles in the couch with her finger. I seriously think she thinks about sex more than I do. Not that I am far behind.

"Well actually here in a bit they are showing a preview of our "show" thing they are doing. I was wondering if you would want to watch it with me." It wasn't supposed to be on for another half hour so maybe we could get a little talking in as well.

"Yeah, that sounds fun." Said Fie. It sounded like there was more going on in her head than what she was saying. But I have never been good at figuring out the inner workings of a female mind.

"So." I began, not sure where to go with the conversation. I guess the only way we knew how to communicate was with our bodies, which is great, but I really don't need someone that is only good for a lay and nothing more.

"What was she like?" Fie said dreamily, still drawing invisible shapes on the white fabric.

"Who?" I said confused.

"Katniss, what was she like?"

"Oh, her." I inhaled a deep breath, considering my options. Talking about Katniss was like picking at a scab so it would never close. But Fie just kept talking about her, she wouldn't leave it alone. Who was she to decide what I needed to do to heal? It wasn't her decision, it was mine. Didn't she get it already that I do not want to talk about Katniss Everdeen?

The rage flew up in me so quick that by the time I exhaled I could see nothing but red. "I have told you before, I do not want to talk about her. Stop thinking you know what's best for me, stop pretending to care. You don't even know me, and I don't know you. You're just a girl I fucked, that's all." I snapped at her.

Fie looked up at me, eyes wide with shock and fear. Fie's eyes then narrowed and I was met with her returning anger.

"I just asked a fucking question." Fie spat, getting off the couch to stand in front of me. "If you haven't noticed, we don't exactly have a lot to talk about. The only thing we are good at is fucking. So maybe you're just looking for a warm place to stick it, and that, good-looking, is not all that I am."

Furiously Fie stomped over to the foyer and grabbed a fur-lined jacket. She slipped it over her narrow shoulders and then stormed past me to the back door, located just through the laundry room before the bedroom. Just like that, she was gone, and with her so was my rage.

"Dammit." I cursed myself. My mom always said my anger would be the death of me. I was just like my father. I had half a mind to go out after her, but I had no idea where she was going. There are a thousand places to hide in this city, and I know none of her favorites. At least when Katniss was mad at me, I knew where in the woods she liked to hide.

I breathed a heavy, calming breath. Maybe she just needed to cool down, then she would come back and we could talk. For now I would just turn on the TV. The clip of the show would be on soon enough, then maybe I will just go to bed. So much for a night of getting to know Fie.

I was staring off into nothing when the sound of Collins voice startled me. My eyes flickered to the door, nervous he had just burst in uninvited. What if Fie had been back? There was no one at the door which was when I realized the noise came from the TV. This was our clip.

Collins was standing in front of a line of soldiers. Barking at us. They had edited some of the things he had said to make him sound even more intimidating. Not as sarcastic as his usual self. The film then cut to us blowing up the pods on the first block. Collins standing like a mad man watching the ball of fire. The camera zoomed away from Collins and focused on the flames, that was where the logo came across the screen. _Soldiers of Panem: Shepherds of the people. _

"You have got to be kidding me." My eyes rolled as I turned the TV off. That was as bad as the first propos in 13 when they tried to get Katniss to read lines. I can't believe they used the stupid shepherd line either. I thought I had gotten it through to them just how ridiculous it sounded. Seeing it on the screen was so much worse.

Now my anger was beginning to resurface. Fuck this day. I am going to bed. I went to the kitchen to take care of the dinner Fie had made. She said it would be ready in about another half hour, but I couldn't just leave it cooking. Who even knows if she was going to come back tonight. I turned the oven off and left the dish alone. At least the house won't catch fire.

I headed for the bedroom, stripping down to my boxers for bed. Crawling under the comforter I finally felt my muscles lose some of their tension, but I was still mad. I was surprised how quickly I succumbed to the darkness.

_I ran through the forest, a panic in my chest. I was looking for something, but I couldn't find it. I willed my feet to move faster, the branches stinging my face as I pushed through the thickening trees. I moved deeper and deeper into the darkness of the forest. Where was she?_

_I continued looking, but there was nothing anywhere. I stopped running circling around the place I stood looking for a sign anywhere. A broken branch, turned leaves, anything that would tell me which way she had gone. I felt a scream rising up in my throat and I fought to choke it down. I bottled all my rage into a fist and struck the hard trunk near me. _

_There was a loud crack as the tree shook with the force of my blow. It ran all the way up the tree, shimmering the branches, causing the leaves to shake. Snow began to fall from the leaves. I thought it had been summer, there was no snow anywhere, but now as I looked the forest was blanketed with white. Snow was falling off the leaves of the tree I hit. Cooling my anger._

_I looked up to watch as the flakes floated downward. A single snowflake falling toward my face landing coolly on my cheek. The spot on my cheek cold and wet. So cold it felt hot. The heat increased, burning my skin. My hand flexed, wiping the snow from my face. My hand came back it the smudge of ash. It was not snow falling, it was burning ash raining from the sky. _

_I looked down, it wasn't snow blanketing the ground. I was standing in a smoldering pile of ashes. I saw a figure, lying on the ground. Bow still strung across her back, quiver empty. The ash falling so heavy on her slight frame. I only noticed it was someone when the figure moved. "Katniss." I yelled as familiarity hit me. _

_I raced to her, pulling her to face me. Her eyes were missing, only empty sockets remained. Black holes staring into me. Her body limp and cold. Hair red as the fiery embers around her. That was when I heard the scream. _

"Gale! Gale wake up!" I opened my eyes and Fie was standing above me. She was shaking me hard. The screaming was winding down. It reminded me of the wail of siren that sounded in 12 when there was a mining accident. I realized then the sound was coming from me, I was the one screaming. My throat felt sore, I must have screamed for a while before I was awoken.

Fie's eyes were large and weary. "Are you ok?" She asked sitting back a fraction.

"Yeah," I croaked. Clearing my throat with a cough, "bad dream."

"Do you get those often?" Asked Fie, seeming puzzled.

"Yeah, almost every night." I tried hard not to blink. Whenever my eyes closed, even for a moment, the nightmare haunted me. Black pits where eyes should have been, boring into me. It was much better to have my eyes open met with the warm green of Fie's eyes. Fie's hair was braided back, it was then when I realized it had not been Katniss I was searching for in my dream, it was Fie.


	15. Chapter 15

**So sorry it has been forever since I have updated. Recently I got into one of my obsessive reading moods and literally had to tear myself away from the book just to finish this Chapter. I am going to try to get another one in tonight, if I can keep my hands off my book. But on a good note, Gale finally told me where he wants to go with this, so I am actually pretty excited. There is gonna be a lot of trouble that Gale and Fie find themselves in as there are consequences for their relationship.**

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Chapter 15 - Conversations

I sat up quickly, arms stretched so I could wrap myself around Fie. Pulling her into bed with me. I touched her hair, her cheeks, her shoulders. "I'm so sorry." I whispered into her ear then placed my lips on her forehead for a light kiss. "I'm stupid." I said my lips still grazing her head. I felt Fie's body relax, and she wrapped her arms around my shoulders giving me a light squeeze.

I moved so our foreheads were touching. Nose against nose. Fie's eyes are closed and I began to rub my nose along the length of hers. Her lips twitched into a small smile. "Forgive me?" I said, hoping her eyes would open so I could look into them.

Fie opened her eyes, they were warm and forgiving I hope. "Yeah, I forgive you. Sorry I kind of ran out on you like that. But we are both explosive people sometimes, it was better for me to get away before we started screaming at each other."

I nodded my head in agreement. We were very similar. Maybe that was what I like so much about her, she challenged me. I inhaled deeply, cherries and mint swirling around in my head. I kissed her lips gently, waiting to see what her move would be. Her lips melted into mine, parting enough for a soft sigh. I ran my tongue across her bottom lip. She did not open further. She was hesitant after our little fight earlier.

I ended the kiss, gently pulling my lips away. Fie nuzzled herself into my neck. I felt better like this, and soon Fie's breathing evened out and I could tell she was fast asleep. I still had my arms around her, and the one under her was losing feeling. I loved holding her close, but there was no comfortable way of doing it for a long time without losing feeling in one of your arms.

I tried to shuffle around a little to get into a more comfortable position, but there was no use. The only way I would feel better was if I were to move Fie off of me, and right now I needed her close. I closed my eyes, inhaling her scent and found myself slowly drifting.

I awoke with a start and relaxed when I found Fie still snuggled into my arms. She was sleeping soundly. I checked the time 06:27. At least I still had a little while until I needed to be up. Closing my eyes again I found that I was fully rested. That's what I get for going to bed so early. I hugged Fie closer then rolled her. She finally released my arm and I flexed it, feeling prickles as the blood was starting to flow again.

Fie curled up on her side, still sleeping soundly. I decided that I may as well get up and take a shower. My muscles ached and I had time to just sit under the water and let them relax. In the shower I stood with my back to the water, just enjoying the massage of warmth on my back. My mind began to wander.

I was happy that Fie came back last night. I was worried that my temper may have scared her away. I wonder where she went when she was gone and what time had she gotten back? We needed to learn how to talk with each other, the sex was great but I wanted more from her. She wasn't like the other girls from the Seam that I had messed around with out of boredom.

I have no idea how long I have sat under the water, it never ran cold. I turned off the faucet and decided to use one of the drying buttons. The warm air wrapped around me like a blanket on a cold winter night. Within moments my skin was warm and dry, no need for a towel.

I walked back into the bedroom, completely naked looking for some new clothes. Fie opened her eyes as I came out of the bathroom. A large grin stretching across her face. "Well that's a view to wake up to." She said rolling over away from me.

I decided just to hop under the blanket with her, still naked. It's not like she hasn't seen me naked before. I cuddled up behind her, wrapping my arm around her waist. "Good morning." I said into the back of her head.

"Morning." I said kissing the back of her neck. She pressed her bottom into me, swirling her hips against me. "I was thinking about making you some breakfast since I got up so early, but I have tome for something else if that is what you would prefer."

Fie turned her head to face me and grinned. "Breakfast sounds amazing."

I got up from under the blankets and put clothes on quickly then strolled out of the room and headed for the kitchen. I began to open the cupboards slowly scanning the items to figure out what I could possibly make. I guess I didn't think this through fully. I started up the coffee, at least I knew how to make that.

Fie sauntered out from the back of the apartment, she was wearing a thin white robe tied tightly around her middle. She sat down at the island as I handed her a cup of coffee. She inhaled deeply then moaned slightly. "I love the smell of coffee."

"So, what would you like for breakfast?" I asked, hoping that since she knew already what we had in stock it would give me a better idea of what I could make.

"Eggs, bacon, biscuits from 4, you know the green ones that are slightly salty. And some cinnamon sugar apples. That sounds perfect." Fie smiled into her cup as she took a sip.

"Umm," I looked around the kitchen frantically.

"No we don't have the stuff to make that." Fie said amusing herself with her joke. "You shouldn't ask a question unless you want the answer. How about you grab me one of the muffins that are in the bread box, I found them yesterday while I was out."

I looked around and found a long rectangular wooden box, on the side there was a little handle and I tried to pull on it. It did not move. I decided instead to push and found it moving up. Inside the box was four delicious looking muffins. They were a slight yellow color with large clumps of sugar on top. I took two out before closing the lid, handing one to Fie. They were soft, fresh, she couldn't have found them in one of the abandoned homes.

I looked at her incredulously. "Where do you find things like this?" I asked holding up the muffin. Fie already had a large chunk in her mouth, but smiled slyly. Reminding me again how fox-like she really was.

"They bring in fresh perishables to the mansion every week. There is more than they need, so I take some things here and there. I can't imagine just living on canned foods unless I really have to." Fie said then quickly taking another bite.

I picked pieces off my muffin, popping them into my mouth and chewing slowly. Banana. We sat in silence for several minutes, each enjoying our food. I could not help but to think about the awkward silence stretching between us. "What's your favorite color?" I blurted out of nowhere.

"My favorite color?" Asked Fie. "Where did that come from?"

"It's just, we never really have anything to say to each other. The only thing we can communicate about it sex, generally while we are doing it. I thought I would just try to ask you something, get to know you other than your book summary of why you are so 'fucked' up."

Fie considered what I said for a moment. "Blue." She said simply. "Feel like you know me better now?"

I felt as my lips twitched, a frown forming. No I didn't know her any better, her favorite color was blue, but that didn't tell me really anything about her. I didn't feel any closer to her than I had before I had known.

"Maybe," began Fie, "it's not such a bad thing that the only thing we are good at communicating is sex. We can use that to get to know each other on that deeper level that you are looking for. We can even make a game out of it or something. Hell I don't know. I know what you mean though, just sitting next to you trying to be normal doesn't feel right, but that does not make it wrong."

"How would we make a game out of figuring things out while having sex? What are you going to wear blue underwear next time, and I can wear green?"

"Your favorite color is green?"

"Yeah it is, green like new leaves. Like the color of your eyes."

Fie looked taken aback slightly, and I saw a pink glow flush to her cheeks. She looked away from me quickly. Was she really blushing?

I looked to my communicator, 07:25, I had run out of time this morning.

"Maybe we could try it tonight. You think of some way to make a game out of this and let's see if it works. It can't be any worse than now." I told her and she seemed to light up mischievously.

"That.. I can do." she said.

Work was more of the same from yesterday. At least tomorrow would be my last day before leave. They were giving us the weekends for ourselves. All the other guys were getting anxious for the time off as well. Some were excited to get to sleep in, others were talking about a case of liquor they had found in one of the apartments behind a sliding panel in the closet.

"You should come over and have a few drinks." Brant said directing his attention to me. "Might loosen you up a bit." As he said this the other guys began laughing together. I didn't say anything and just got up and walked away. I could hear them behind me, talking about me.

"I heard he used to be a real cool guy before Katniss went all bat-shit. Now all he does is mope around."

"Bet you they had a thing."

More laughter. I just continued walking. I was used to hearing things like that muttered about me. No one really knew me, or at least no one that was still alive and around. I didn't need to prove myself to them or to anyone else for that matter.

"Gale!" Collins called my name, motioning me to come over.

"There you are, is everything alright? You have been acting weird these past few days." Said Collins in a tone I would not have expected from him. He spoke softer than I had ever heard him before, concern in his voice.

"Yeah everything is fine, I have just been thinking about the last time I was sent out here with a camera crew. Not many of us made it back from that." I rubbed the back of my neck thinking about all my friends I had lost.

Collins looked at me with real concern in his eyes. "Is that why you aren't getting to know any of them." Collins flicked his finger in the general direction of the other guys, still sitting together laughing about something. I was not sure if they were still talking about me or if they had moved on to a new topic by now.

"Maybe." Was all I could manage. I didn't want to get really close to anyone ever again. I had not planned on it, then Fie came literally crashing into my life and I was not wanting or expecting it. Maybe I was the reason that everything was so weird. I am just so tired of seeing people I love getting hurt, or worse, killed.


	16. Chapter 16

**Short chapter but I did say I wanted to try to get a second one in today.**

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Chapter 16 - The Game

Fie was sitting astride me. My shirt off, having been dropped unceremoniously to the floor almost the moment I had come home from work. We were on the couch, fireplace on but set to a low warm breeze. Like the air at dusk in summer.

"Let's start with what we are good at, and work backward." Said Fie, she had thought all day about this game she wanted to play. We were going to get to know each other while we were fooling around.

"What's your favorite sex position." Asked Fie as she ran her fingers up and down my chest. I could feel my skin hot under her touch.

"Girl on top." I said breathlessly.

"Figures, you like to give up control don't you?" Asked Fie leaning down to give me a small bite on my collarbone.

"No, I just like to watch you work." I said swallowing hard. "What about you, what's your favorite position?"

"From behind." Fie said simply, capturing my mouth with hers, biting my bottom lip then pulling back for her next question.

"How many girls have you slept with?"

"Wait, you didn't let me comment on your last answer. You like it from behind? So you like to be dominated?" I said hoping to have pointed out the most straight forward reasoning as she had done for mine.

Fie smiled, "Something like that, now how many?"

I would have to keep a mental note of that, "Seven." I said pulling on the hem of her shirt.

"That's not as many as I expected." Fie said, raising her arms for me to pull her shirt all the way off. "I have been with three."

Fie leaned in to kiss my neck, traveling up to my ear, sucking the lobe into her mouth. A low growl escaped me as I gripped her hips. "I was expecting more. No offense, you just seem skilled, I would have thought more for sure."

"Sure, call me a slut." Fie said against my neck. Tickling the skin right under my ear with her breath.

"That's not what I was saying."

"I know, I just like to tease you. Your question." Fie went back to sucking on my earlobe, biting and pulling gently.

"Who was your first kiss and how old were you?"

"I believe that is two questions Mr. Hawthorne. My first kiss was with a boy named Justin and I was 6 years old. Nothing fancy, just a little peck during swimming instruction." Fie smiled at the memory. It was before all the bad happened so I was happy to hear something from a happier time in her life.

"Mine was a girl named Lenore when I was 10. We were in school together and she asked me if I would walk her home one day. I said yes and when I got close to her house she turned and kissed me on the lips and then ran off giggling."

"Wow, so you have had girls falling all over to get a piece of you since you were 10." Said Fie with that she kissed my lips, forcing her tongue into my mouth to explore. The conversation went to a temporary pause as we kissed deeply and passionately.

"I think I'm good with the question and answering for tonight." Said Fie breathlessly before capturing my mouth again.

My hands circled to the back of her head, grabbing her hair tightly. I can't believe we have only had sex once, everything about her was beginning to feel familiar to me. Fie broke the kiss to growl at me. Teeth bared and all. I have never seen anything more sexy in my entire life. It stirred a more primal instinct in me and I couldn't help myself anymore. I didn't want to take anything slow, I needed her and I needed her now.

My hands released her hair and cupped themselves under her butt, pulling her with me as I stood. I carried her swiftly to the bedroom. I threw her on the bed as soon as I was in range, crawling up her body. My shirt was already off and so was hers. I undid the button of her pants and pulled them off as well as her underwear. My own pants followed next as I shed them into the pile of already discarded clothes.

Fie helped by unsnapping her bra throwing it across the room. She growled again, beckoning to me with her finger. I growled back, it just felt right. I kissed her passionately, lining myself up with her entrance. She pulled away from the kiss to growl one last time, her eyes staring straight into mine. My head exploded with lust.

My mind changed in an instant and I sat back on my heels and swiftly flipped her over on her stomach. My hand reaching around under her waist pulling her ass into the air. I used my knees to spread her legs open wider, my other hand returning to her hair. It only took a moment for me to enter her.

"This how you like it?" I said through gritted teeth. Fie's whole demeanor changed as she whimpered. If she had not told me earlier this was what she liked I would not have been so sure now. The strong and feisty girl had been replaced with a shy submissive one.

Fie whimpered again pushing against me, she wanted me to move, and so I did. At first slowly, making sure that this really was what she wanted. Her moans and whimpers were those of approval and my doubt began to fade and I picked up my pace.

Fie met me thrust for thrust pushing me harder and faster until the rhythm was punishing. "Fuck Fie." I gasped as her moans became louder. She was clearly enjoying herself. "God you're so wet." I hissed. I could tell she was close but I needed to send her over that cliff.

My arm that was still around her hip snaked back so I could rub her apex as I thrust into her. "Gale!" She screamed my name and began to spasm and twist beneath me. Her pulsing and throbbing seemed to milk from me my on release. I stilled inside her, shaking slightly following with a few slow thrusts gasping for air. I shivered as an aftershock hit me.

Fie had slumped down exhausted and panting. I pulled out before collapsing so I wouldn't fall on-top of her. We both just laid there silent except for the sound of our heavy breathing as we slowly calmed.

"That. Was. Amazing." Said Fie and I was glad that I was not too rough after all.

"Not too rough?" I asked still trying to catch my breath.

Fie laughed almost nervously, "There is never too rough with me." She smiled a wicked smile and I felt myself grinning madly.

My euphoria quickly turned to horror as I realized that in my hurry I had forgotten to pull out when I finished. My eyes widened as I looked at Fie. "Umm, hate to break the mood and all, but you don't happen to be on any kind of birth control, because, I umm, well.."


	17. Chapter 17

**Many apologies, one it has taken me much longer to update than usual. This is because my daughter (3) decided that my laptop was dirty and poured a while bottle of water on it. I have since had to have a funeral for my old computer and get a new one, and then start this over without my old documents. At least I can still go back and read my own story to make sure I get things right. **

**Second apology is this is kind of a short chapter. I will try my best to get another one up tonight, this just needed to end when it did, but you all have been so patient you deserve more so I will get right on it! I promise! As for now, enjoy. **

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Chapter 17 - Childhood

Fie's laughter took me off guard. She was really cracking herself up, and I couldn't see what was so funny considering the circumstances. I had never lost control like that before, but I had never been that rough with anyone either.

"No I'm not on birth control." Fie was able to manage between laughing fits. My confusion about her laughter turned to horror. She did this on purpose. Weren't we just talking about how we can't even have a simple conversation, and now she wants a kid. My horror turned to anger, not only with her but with myself. Fie was still laughing and that pissed me off more than anything else.

I quickly got out of bed, grabbing for a pair of boxers and slide them up into place. Where did I pants go? I fumbled around before finally finding them. Fie's laughter slowed quickly and then stopped altogether.

"Gale, what are you doing?" Now she sounded a little upset.

"I have to go, I'm so fucking pissed right now, I just have to go." I said quickly fumbling but finally getting my pants secured.

"What!" Demanded Fie. "Why are you pissed?" That was the last straw, like she didn't know.

"Why? You want to know why I am pissed. Was this your plan all along, come find some random guy to knock you up? I get you have had some shit thrown at you during your life but forcing someone to be with you by having a kid with them is not the way to fix things Fie." At least I said what I needed to, the old me would have hastily walked out without giving any kind of explanation. She needed to know how pissed I am, she needed to know what she did wrong.

I looked over to her green eyes which shined with rage. There was no longer a smile on her face. "Is that what you think of me?" Her voice was low and calm, but her eyes told me that calm was the furthest thing from what she felt.

"Gale first off I would never trap someone into being with me for a child. I know you don't exactly know me that well but it really hurts that you would think that of me at all."

"But…" I began and Fie cut me off.

"No, you don't know anything. You may think you know, but you don't. Get your ass back over here and you will sit and talk to me and listen to what I have to say before you go and run away."

I came back over to the bed and sat down gingerly. The only one that has ever talked to me like that was my mother; I didn't know what else to do other than obey.

"I'm sorry I laughed like that at your question, I guess you got the wrong idea. For me it was a hilarious question but you don't know me very well so you have no idea why I had to laugh. I am not on birth control because I don't need to be. I can never have kids Gale."

Well that was not what I was expecting. "Never have kids?" I questioned.

"Never. When I was a girl I was playing in the ocean with my father. He was teaching me how to make nets for catching fish. When I pulled my net in, there was a strange creature in it that I had never seen before. I reached out to touch it and my father screamed but it was already too late. The creature stung me and I got really sick. My parents called the local healer who came to the house. I almost died. The sickness took from me any chance of ever having children. It was some kind of mutation from one of the Capitol experiments, something like a blow fish mixed with a sting ray." Fie explained, looking down and fiddling with the edge of the blanket.

"So, you weren't trying to get yourself knocked up?" It was a lame thing to say but it was the only thing my mind could grasp.

"No." Fie said simply still looking down. Great now I felt like an ass.

"Now I feel like an ass." I could see Fie's lips turn up slightly as she still stared down. I reached over and used my finger to pull her chin up to meet my gaze. "I really mean it, I feel like a complete ass."

"Well, good news is you don't have to worry about getting me pregnant because it can't happen." Fie smirked at me. I think one of her defense mechanisms is turning everything she says into a sexual remark. Not that this conversation had far to stretch to make it that way.

"Well, that's good to know." Why couldn't I think of anything better to say? "I'm sorry." I managed.

"It's ok, really it is. I can see how you would have gotten a bad vibe. Just in the future can you ask questions and wait for an answer before you go jumping off the handle?" Fie looked into my eyes, seeming to plead with me.

I had asked her a question; I asked her if she was on birth control. I guess it was too specific of a question; her answer was truthful but lead me to the wrong assumption. I guess what my mother always told me was right, when you assume you make an ass out of you and me. Right now I sure did feel like an ass.

I stood deciding that I clearly was not going to go anywhere and took my pants and boxers back off. Crawling into bed Fie snuggled up under my arm and laid half on my chest. I wrapped my arm around her holding her tight to my body. Fie nuzzled against the crook in my neck, lazily making shapes on my chest with her finger.

"Sorry I pissed you off." She said quietly.

"Thanks for not letting me leave." I said while leaning down to kiss her fiery red hair. "You do some amazing things to me Fie. I hope you know that."

Fie looked up to me and smiled. I bent down to lightly touch my lips to hers. The kiss was warm and soft; all my anger had melted away when she had told me about her fishing trip. I pulled back to stare into her eyes. I never thought I could be with someone like this after Katniss, and after just a few short days Fie had not only turned my world upside down but also anchored me to her so my now upside down world revolved around her.

"Go to sleep and we will have some more fun tomorrow." I kissed her head again then added in a hushed whisper "Now that I know I don't have to hold back."

"I look forward to it." Fie said before closing her eyes.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18 – The Party

Since Fie told me that she can never have kids two things have happened. One: I have had some of the greatest sex of my life. I can finally just let everything come naturally so to speak. There is a whole new level of excitement to be found when you no longer have to worry all the time. We can have sex when and where ever we want and I don't need to worry about being unprepared. I had no idea where I was going to get a hold of protection anyway. The second thing that happened is now I have found myself thinking about kids. It's not that I really want them now, but anytime I am told I cannot have something it just makes me want it more.

With Fie kids can never be a possibility and that makes me really sad sometimes. It's not like I am saying I want to marry this crazy redhead that just came into my life, but if one day I were to decide to settle down I would do so knowing that kids are and forever will be off the table. I tried as hard as I could to push the thought out of my mind; it was way too early to be thinking about things like that.

"Fie, I've got some great news for you." I said coming into the house on my last day of work for the week.

"Oh yeah?" she said while running around the kitchen. She was trying to cook something and the house smelled of burnt food. I think this cooking experiment was one that went a little wrong for her.

"You get to get out of the house and go somewhere with me tomorrow night."

Fie stopped trying to juggle the overly complex dinner, turning off the stove burner in defeat. "How did that happen?" She said while coming around the island taking off the oven mitts. I wonder why she needed those when she was cooking off the stove.

"Tomorrow night the soldiers have been invited to a party here in the Capitol. There will be others here from other districts and I figured it would be a good opportunity for me to meet a fiery red-head at a public party. Who knows maybe I could have an interest in her and bring her back to my apartment that night?" I arched my eyebrow at Fie.

"Well you would have to get pretty lucky to have someone that enticing take you up on your offer but who knows, maybe you will get lucky." This is one of the things I love about Fie, her sense of humor.

"I know I'm going to get lucky tonight." I say closing the distance between Fie and myself. My hand goes to the back of her head pulling her into an intense kiss. Before long both of us have to break, gasping for air. "Your dinner smells terrible." I say giving her a small kiss on the side of her mouth.

"I know." Says Fie, capturing my lips with hers again. We stand there by the dining room kissing for a while, this time not increasing with passion. It was more of a hello kiss than a fuck me now kiss, it felt just right.

"I don't think what I made is entirely edible, we should probably just have something canned if that is alright with you."

"What were you trying to do anyway?" It smelled like…. Well I shouldn't even think of what it smelled like unless I wanted to ruin my appetite for the entire evening.

"I was trying to make you a wonderful home cooked meal. But… we didn't exactly have everything I needed so I decided to substitute."

"Well whatever it was that you actually made, I think you better get rid of it before the smell seeps into the furniture." Fie giggled a little and went back into the kitchen, putting the oven mitts back on her hands.

"I'll go take care of this; you find us some canned food to heat up." Said Fie while she carried a large pot toward the back door.

Dinner was simple: canned chicken and rice with a vegetable medley. I agreed to start the dishwasher that was full of all the various pots and pans Fie had used in her cooking experiment. Fie sat at the island and watched me work until the kitchen was back to its usual spotless nature.

"Done." I said triumphantly as I washed out the kitchen cloth. Fie smiled at me, maybe she was happy to see me taking over more of the household chores. "So about that getting lucky tonight…" I said with a smile. She has never refused me and I don't see why tonight would be any different.

"Yeah not going to happen stud." Fie said smiling back curtly.

"What?" My smile fell flat, I was genuinely confused. "Look, if this has anything to do with the 'time of the month' I don't mind."

"I cannot believe you just went there." Said Fie with a smile etched across her face. She grabbed for the drying towel I left on the island and threw it at me. I caught it as it hit my chest. "I am NOT on my period." Fie said.

"Then why not?" I pretend to pout.

"Because, you are going to a party tomorrow and you are going to meet a mysterious, attractive, totally out of your league red-head that is going to blow your mind."

"So what does that have to do with having sex tonight?" I had thought about Fie's legs wrapped around my neck all day and I was itching to grab her.

"Now that dinner is finished I am leaving and you will get to meet me for the first time tomorrow."

"What do you mean you are leaving, where in the hell are you going to go?" When I first heard of the party I was so happy, I never thought it would make Fie want to leave me alone for the night.

"There is only like thousands of abandoned homes in this city. I will be fine for one night and so will you. Plus, it will only make tomorrow that much better. When and where is this party tomorrow so I know where to be?"

My mind scrambled trying to think of anything to say to make her stay. I didn't want her to leave. But I also knew her, and once she made up her mind of some way to make things "fun" she would never just leave it. I was not going to win no matter what I said. "It's at 6, in the large hall to the south of the Capitol. You really sure about this?" She didn't need to answer, I could see in her eyes that her mind was made up.

Fie came around to me, wrapping her arms around my waist, looking up into my eyes. "I know it's going to be hard being away from me, but I will make it worth it." No matter how much I wanted to fight with her I could see the devilish spark in her eyes and I knew she would make good on her promise. Damn this girl knew how to be sexy.

Fie flexed onto the tips of her toes and I bent down to give her a passionate and sweet kiss. Her lips parted and I swept my tongue into her mouth. I could at least give her a reason to stay, we weren't good with words, but this was how I was best at communicating with Fie. My hands traveled from her waist down to pick her up so she could wrap her legs around my waist. I pushed her up against the fridge, hearing the contents move as we shook it.

I poured out all my pleading into the kiss, willing her to stay. I moved my lips down her throat finding her collarbone where I bit her lightly. I heard as Fie gasped. Her hands were in my hair. She was pulling me closer and then farther away, she couldn't decide and I loved that I could make her resolve falter. "You're not going to change my mind." Fie said, her voice was husky and lacking the steadiness she usually spoke with. My lips stopped their descent as I looked up into her eyes.

"I know, but I figured I would at least try." I kissed her gently again. I pulled back and she touched the side of my face with her hands.

"Thanks for trying." Fie said as she detached herself from me and slid down my body to standing. "I'm going to go now before you change my mind. But I will see you tomorrow." Fie slithered past me, leaving me standing with my hands on the fridge and a raging hard on pressing uncomfortably into my pants.

My breathing slowed and I was a little less turned on before I took my hands off the fridge. By then Fie was already gone, having slipped through the backdoor. I guess she wasn't kidding about leaving before I could change her mind. I guess I was really going to sleep alone tonight.

It was still early and I didn't know what to do with myself without Fie being there. Usually I didn't mind going to bed knowing we would be awake for the next few hours and I would have to wake up early for work the next day. Tomorrow would be different though since I didn't need to be anywhere until 6. If I went to bed now I would just wake up early and have to spend the day waiting for the party. That was when I remembered some of the other guys had been talking about having a party tonight. Maybe I would show up after all.

* * *

I stood outside Brant's apartment; of course he would be the one having the party tonight. I raised my hand to knock but the door opened as my fist was about to connect with the wood, leaving me staring into the wide eyes of one of the other soldiers. I lowered my hand as quickly as I could so he wouldn't think I was about to punch him. He looked scared to death.

"G..Gale. We didn't think you would show up." The boy stammered. He must be barely 18 with sandy blonde hair that flopped into his eyes. He shoved his hand up to clear his sight. He was one of those awkward lanky guys that had no reason being a soldier in the first place.

"Yeah well here I am, so are you on your way out?" The boy looked at me confused then seeming to remember himself started to stammer at me again. Something about going to get more to drink. He slid past me as quick as a mouse and disappeared through one of the nearby doors. He had left the door to this apartment wide open so I decided just to walk on in. Maybe this was not as good of an idea as it had sounded.

I stepped into Brant's apartment and was surprised to find it was laid out very similar to mine. The furniture was nowhere near as nice as the ones in my apartment and clearly Brant didn't keep his house as clean as I did either. Dirty dishes were piled in the sink and open cans of food were littered across the island. The dining room table was covered in cups partly filled with alcohol and many of the soldiers were gathered around watching as Brant threw a small white ball into one of the cups on the other side of the table. Cheers erupted as one of the boys on the other side fished the ball out of the cup before downing the contents. Clearly this was some kind of drinking game.

No one had noticed that I arrived and as I looked around the room I caught the stare of Collins. I walked right over to him; he had a cup in hand looking more relaxed than I had ever seen him. "If you're not careful that boy is gonna steal all your attention." said Collins tilting his head toward Brant before raising the cup to his lips again.

"He can have all the attention I don't care." I said back, most of my words getting lost as another cheer erupted from the crowd.

"I didn't think you would show." Said Collins looking into his cup like he couldn't understand why it was suddenly empty. "I'll go and get you a drink while I refill mine." With that Collins left to go into the kitchen.

"Hey, Gale, I'm so happy you decided to show." I turned to see that Brant was standing next to me. A huge grin nearly split his face in two, brandishing perfect white teeth.

"It's not like I had anything better to do." I said to Brant trying to come across bored. Collins returned handing me a glass filled to the brim with an amber-colored drink. I had to quickly take a sip just to keep it from overflowing. The taste was bitter; it wasn't like the alcohol that Haymitch drank, this was less potent.

Brant stood there, still with that stupid grin on his face. Was he expecting me to say something else? "Well, have fun." He finally decided to say before returning to the louder part of the group.

"I think he was expecting you to become his new bestie." Said Collins with half a smirk into his cup.

"I don't care what he thought. I was just bored and figured I might as well come over since I have nothing better to do." I was grateful that Collins was here, he may be older than me but he seemed like the kind of person I could be friends with. Inside that tough don't-give-a-shit exterior he reminded me of a giant teddy bear. The thought made me chuckle to myself as I tried another sip. It wasn't as bad the second time; I may even grow to enjoy this.

To my surprise I found myself having a good time, and Collins and I even teamed up on some of the younger ones at the drinking game I had seen everyone playing when I first walked in. Collins amazed me with his ability to drink a ridiculous amount of the alcohol without seeming in the slightest bit fazed. I bet even he could take on Haymitch and I wouldn't know who to bet on.

I didn't fare as well as my partner and found myself rather drunk by the end of the game. I leaned my arm on Collins' shoulder; he was the perfect height, being quite a bit shorter than I was. "Let's get you home pretty boy." Collins said loudly in my ear steering me toward the door.

"Can you make it from here?" Collins was already opening the door to my apartment. I was terrified at first he would see Fie before I remembered that she was staying somewhere else tonight.

"Pssst." I said back trying to tell Collins I would be just fine. I staggered into my house closing the door behind me. I found myself to the bedroom and collapsed on top of the covers. Darkness surrounded me before I could even take my shoes off.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19 – Day After

I opened my eyes and noticed that sun was coming through the window shining directly on my face. My head felt like it had been hit by a truck and the world seemed to spin beneath me. I grumbled and turned my head away from the stabbing light and I caught the time 13:00. Had I really slept in until 1 in the afternoon? Now that I was semi-awake there would be no way that I could go back to bed, not at least until I went to the bathroom to relieve myself.

I needed to use my hand against the wall to steady myself as I was standing above the toilet. Is this what Haymitch feels like every day? I was still in the clothes I was wearing last night, shoes and all. I smelled like beer and the scent of it made my stomach turn. I needed to get into the shower and try to clean up. I peeled my clothes off while turning on the water, letting the bathroom fill with a warm fog.

I stepped into the shower and stood under the faucet half leaning against the nearest wall. I don't think I ever want to drink again. Even after 20 minutes in the shower I still didn't feel any better when I walked out. I was not going to be a good day. I opened the cabinet behind the mirror and was surprised to find there were miscellaneous bottles containing pills and liquids of all shapes and colors. I looked through the bottles and found one labeled _Day After _and this certainly was the next day maybe that would be the right thing to take to make this massive headache go away.

I looked at the back of the bottle. _Warning: must be taken within 24 hours of unprotected intercourse for greatest chance of success. _I put the bottle back down feeling bile rise up in my throat. So this was how people in the Capitol had protected themselves from getting pregnant. They could do whatever they wanted as long as they remembered to take a little pill the next day they were in the clear. There had to be at least 60 pills in this bottle. That was 60 chances to erase a possible child. I put the bottle back and closed the cabinet door, no longer wanting to find a magic cure for the pain I caused myself from the night before.

I had seen others back in the seam drinking lots of water and eating greasy foods the next morning, maybe something in that would help. I dressed quickly in a pair of pajama pants that I would have worn the night before had I not passed out before changing. It was one of the several presents Fie had gotten me since I let her go back out 'foraging' in the other apartments. She had found a lot of clothes that were my size. She tried to stay away from more of the ridiculous Capitol fashions as she knew I would not wear them. This was a comfortable pair of flannel pants, a little too hot for the season for they were incredibly comfortable and I was not ready yet to get dressed for the evening.

After my breakfast/lunch I sat down on the couch still sipping water. My stomach didn't feel any better than it had when I first woke and my head still throbbed. If this is what people did to make themselves feel better I couldn't imagine what it felt like to do something that made it worse. I put my hand on my head and closed my eyes, trying to focus on making the drum like pounding go away. I concentrated and then realized I could hear the pounding in my ears. My eyes opened as I realized the sound was coming from the door, someone was knocking.

I groaned as I rolled myself off the couch, shuffling my way to the door. I don't care who is there or why, but I needed to make the pounding stop. "What!" I said as I finally got the door open, squinting against the light. Collins was standing before me with a large coffee in each hand and a smile plastered on his face. I saw him drink even more than I had last night, how in the hell could he smile when I felt like this.

"Morning sunshine, I see you are enjoying the afterglow of last night." Collins said as he slipped past me into my apartment. "Nice place you got here, you should have seen my place when I first moved in. It looked like someone tried to cut up the couch with a knife to fit it through the door." Collins laughed to himself, "I'm telling you, some people from the Capitol were just plain nuts."

"Please," I begged "don't talk so loud." I flopped back down on the couch and buried my head in my hands.

"Here." Said Collins and I looked up to see him shoving one of the large coffee's in my direction. I took a nervous sip; I didn't want anything that would make this worse.

"I promise you will feel better once you get a little bit in your system. It has a little cure-all in it. Figured a lightweight like you would have no idea how to take care of himself the next day. But man it sure was funny as hell watching you get drunk."

I looked down at the coffee wondering exactly what Collins had put in it feeling uneasy about taking something unknown. But even with just that small sip the banging in my head had slightly dulled and I quickly went and took another larger sip of the coffee, slightly burning my tongue.

Collins laughed, "That 'a boy. Just slow down, don't burning yourself. I guess you must be feeling pretty shitty if you are inhaling the coffee like that."

"That's one way of putting it." I said before taking another sip, a little more carefully this time. "So is this in all coffee or did you add something to the drink."

"They pretty much put it in with the grounds anymore. At least the Capitol grounds have it in them, but I doubt that the outer districts have any of it in their coffee if they are even lucky enough to get coffee."

"Got it, so if I drink I need to have coffee in the morning." I thought back and wondered if that was why Plutarch was always freaking out in 13 when there was no coffee. I thought he just needed a caffeine fix but maybe it was because of a whole different issue. I remember that alcohol was prohibited in 13 as well. I don't know, maybe I should just give up on deep thinking right now, at least I was starting to feel a bit better. I took another sip of my coffee.

"So, the party tonight…." Collins began, "Are you planning on wearing those?" He pointed at my flannel pants, I looked down and realized I had not even put a shirt on.

"I wasn't really thinking about that. I do have some other clothes that I umm found in the apartment, looks like they might fit."

"Good, I mean I'm sure there are plenty of women out there that would drool all over this." He said gesturing up and down my body. "But I am pretty sure the event is a little more uppity than that."

I laughed a bit, surprised at how much better I was already beginning to feel. This conversation seemed so normal, it was like Collins and I had been friends for years. "What are you planning on wearing?" I raised my eyebrows to him.

"I don't know yet, all I seem to be able to find around here is purple suits and fur coats."

"I bet you would look real good in purple." Collins smiled at my remark. And I began to laugh thinking of him in a light purple suit.

"Damn straight." Collins said joining me in laughter. "You know, it really doesn't matter what I wear, it's not like I'm going to be meeting someone up there."

My laughter cut short, how could he know about Fie? We had been so careful. "What do you mean?" I asked trying to hide my nervousness.

"Oh come on, we all know there are going to be all kinds of women at that party. Are you seriously telling me that you're not interesting in meeting some random girl and bringing her back here. I know what happened between you and Katniss, well as best I could know from hearing from everyone else. But she's gone now, it's time for you to move on with your life and find someone new, even if it's just a one night kind of thing."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. It's time I did move on, and who knows maybe you will find someone tonight too." With that Collins laughed a big booming laugh like it was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard, but the smile never left his face.

"Well," said Collins shifting to the edge of the couch readying him to get up, "I should probably be getting going."

I got up to walk him to the door. "Thanks for the coffee."

"Any time pretty boy wouldn't want you a mess tonight; all cameras will be on you tonight." With that Collins left headed to his own place.

It took no time at all before the clock was inching itself toward 6. I was starting to feel excited that I was going to see Fie tonight. It already felt like forever since I had seen her, but really it had only been like a day. Was I really getting that whipped already?

I sorted through the clothes that Fie picked out; there was a simple pair of black pants that looked comfortable enough. As far as shirts were concerned I settled on a blue button up shirt. I hoped this would be fancy enough.

As the clocked ticked nearer I found myself pacing around the apartment unsure of what to do. It was too soon to leave but I knew the sooner I went the sooner I would get to see Fie again and that thought excited me. I wonder what she would be wearing.

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**I am so excited about the party! There will be plenty of good times and maybe a little darkness, time to shake things up a bit, what do you all want to see happen at the party?**


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20 – The Party Pt. 1

Finally it was time to go. I had been pacing around for so long I decided to just sit down before the floors began to show signs of wear. I couldn't explain why I was feeling so nervous. I had needed to take another shower after Collins left just to clean myself up again before I got dressed. I don't remember ever needing to clean up so nice before. Finnick's wedding had been the most dressed up I had ever been and even then it was nothing compared to how I looked now. I was hoping the night would cool the air a little or else I would be sweating through my clothes in no time. Why were all dress clothes long sleeved no matter the weather?

I left the apartment and noticed that some of the other soldiers were coming out of their homes at the same time. At least I wouldn't have to walk up alone. I found Collins in the mix of all the excited voices. For many of us this was the first real party we had ever gone to, or at least the first that we needed to dress up for. Collins was wearing a clean set of his military wear. "So you decided against the purple?" I said sneaking up on Collins from behind.

Collins slowed his walk to come along side me, letting some of the more eager ones to go ahead of us. "Yeah you know, purple never really was my color. I don't think it brings out the color of my eyes." He said batting his lashes at me. "You clean up pretty nice." He said looking me up and down.

"You never know I just might get to take someone home, figured I better be prepared. Who all is going to be here tonight?" I would have to figure out my possibilities to explain where Fie was from.

"Well Ms. Rose and Plutarch were talking about throwing a party in our honor. I guess she wasn't shitting us when she said she wanted us to be as loved as the victors were. So they have invited pretty much any one that wanted to come from the other districts. Most of them that accepted seemed to be former Capitol residents, but there were some from the original districts that were a little curious. I guess really anyone could show."

Well that would make it easier to come up with a story for Fie, she could be anyone really and it wouldn't attract any attention. But I could not help myself from wondering, if everyone was given an open invitation, would Katniss show? I know she was supposed to stay in 12, but if they wanted to give soldiers this fame like that of the victors, I wouldn't put it past Plutarch to invite her here for the evening. After all she was still the Mockingjay. I felt confused, I didn't even know if I wanted Katniss to show or not. How would she handle meeting Fie, if that is, she was even deciding to speak to me yet.

I walked the rest of the way there in silence and Collins let me. He was one of those rare people that knew exactly what to say and when to say it, and even when to just be quiet. We were just beginning to walk up the steps, the door to the hall right in front of us and I felt an overwhelming urge to ask Collins something, "What's your first name?"

"Mike." He said opening the door and letting me walk in ahead of him.

I have never been to a party like this. There were people all over the place, women dressed in everything from pant suits to long flowing ball gowns. There were servers running around with large trays, atop them slender glasses containing liquids of all colors. I felt incredibly under dressed as I looked to a group of men that were wearing colorful suits with clashing ties. Maybe Collins should have worn the purple suit; he would have fit in better with that on than he did in his uniform.

As I was scanning the room Plutarch caught my eye and waved me over. I made my way through the crowds of people, everyone seemed to be talking excitedly and it was somewhat hard to hear. Plutarch had a commanding voice and seemed to be at ease in this kind of attention talking loudly enough for the whole group to hear.

"Gale, I am so happy to see you!" His hand clasped my shoulder and he shook me slightly. "You already know Amithy you director." He pointed to her, standing in the small group he was talking to, she was wearing an above the knee black cocktail dress with no straps. Her hair was down and pin straight, the pink was more vibrant today unlike the pale color I had seen on her before. She titled her glass to me as a hello. "Also I'm sure you know Johanna."

I looked and was surprised that Johanna was here, she was wearing a mostly see-through dress with delicate black lace designs that swirled up her body just barely covering her most sensitive areas. Her hair was done short and spiky with glitter everywhere. She smiled lightly with a mischievous gleam to her eyes. "Hey Johanna, it's been awhile."

"Yeah too long if this is how you dress every day. I was expecting whimpering puddle of mess after the whole Katniss thing, but you look damn hot right now." I see Johanna hasn't changed.

"It's good to see you too." I said before Plutarch physically turned my body away from the group. He leaned down and spoke softer in my ear so none of the others could hear. "Filming is going great, we are going to announce the airdate tonight during the party. Next week I will call for you to come down and watch the first airing before it goes out. I would love to have your thoughts." His eyes gleamed and I remembered the table full of yes men that surrounded him and the terrible spot that was on TV last week. He clearly needed someone to tell him how terrible it all was. But not tonight.

"Sure I would love to help."

"Excellent!" Plutarch said straightening up. "Go on out and enjoy your party, this is for you after all." With that Plutarch finally released his hold on me and I somewhat staggered forward. The group went back into some conversation I was not a part of and Johanna gave me a slight wink as I decided to go on and look for some of the other soldiers.

It was not too hard to find them, huddled together in a corner of the room. We all looked out of place, and certainly underdressed. Many of them decided like Collins to wear a clean uniform. Other's like Brant were clearly testing the fashions of clothing found in the Capitol. Brant had not fared as well as I did with finding something his size. He wore a dark green suit that looked almost black except under the right lighting where the fabric seemed to shimmer with a green glow. He had the jacket unbuttoned as it was clear that it was at least a size too small. Underneath he wore a plain white shirt, it must have belonged to the same owner as the suit because it was stretched tight over his chest.

Collins was there in the group, the talking was minimal here. Collins had already found himself a glass to drink; it was full of a dark liquid, almost black in color with thick brown foam on top. "I thought they didn't have alcohol back in 13." I said having to raise my voice to be heard. From here I noticed it was not just the mass amounts of people talking that made it so noisy, there was also a band playing in the far back area where a stage was set up.

"They didn't." Collins said, "I took quite a liking to it once I was placed in District 2. Now I can say I am quite the expert on the matter."

"Man, I thought you guys said there was gonna be some chicks here. All I see is old bags with colored hair and too much make-up." Complained Brant to no-one in particular, many of the other younger soldiers who were standing near him nodded their head and grunted in agreement.

"Should I take offense to that?" I heard the purr coming from behind us; instinctively I knew who that voice belonged to.

Brant's face paled as he turned and found himself face-to-face with Amithy Rose, bright pink hair and too much make-up, she was exactly what Brant had been describing. "I guess if this is not what you are looking for you need to walk around a bit and see what else there is other than hiding in a corner." Amithy's lips twisted into a smile. "I even believe I saw some younger ladies come in not so long ago, although I do think I should warn you, they are wearing even more make-up than I am."

I could not hide my grin as Brant stammered then decided it was best to leave. Maybe he would be going to find some of the younger women after-all. Most of the other soldiers turned and followed. The one whom I almost hit instead of the door when I knocked the other night mumbled a quick farewell to Amithy before scurrying off with his friends.

"Boys." Was all Amithy seemed to be able to say. "You on the other hand are not a boy, come for a dance?" I was trying to find a polite way to say no when Collins voice boomed next to me. "Sure." Amithy's eyes brightened as he took her by the crook of her arm and lead her closer to the band where others were beginning to dance.

"Drink sir?" Said a man carrying one of the trays filled with colorful liquid. I took one that was blue, thinking of Fie and thanked the man before he quickly turned and offered a drink to the next person he met. Where was she? This would be so much better with her here, at least then I would have someone to talk to. I took a sip, it was much sweeter than I had anticipated and I nearly choked on the drink.

"Careful." Said a seductive voice from behind me, delicately placing her fingers on my arm. The skin was not pale cream, this was not Fie. I turned expecting one of the young women in too much make-up but was pleasantly surprised to find familiar eyes staring back at me. "Johanna, you scared me."

"So how's life been treating you?" Johanna had a way of making every word count, there was no time for bull shit.

"It's been about the same. Camera's all around, blowing shit up, you know, the usual." Johanna scoffed at me.

"Looks like you're having all the fun. I've just been hanging out in my huge house yelling at people to get off my lawn like an old man. I love it!" Johanna crossed her arms in front of her chest and laughed at her own memories. "So planning on trying to meet up with some hottie tonight or you still pining over Katniss."

I get why everyone keeps asking me about Katniss, but really it's getting quite old. No one even knows about Fie, so everyone is still under the assumption I am like I have been for the past several months. Depressed, alone, and not letting anyone into my life. Why then would everyone seem to think it is such a great idea to bring up the one name that makes me feel like shit over and over again? Johanna took my silence to mean yes and continued on.

"You know I heard from Haymitch the other day. Looks like Peeta came back to 12 after all." I had been doing so much better this past week, I had not felt the stabbing pain of loss this feeling of being utterly incomplete. Now that pain was back, threatening to rip my body in two.

"It was nice seeing you again Johanna, I'm going to go and find another drink." With that I turned and left, I didn't want to think or hear about Katniss anymore. I wandered around through the crowds of people; many more had found their way to the dance floor.

Collins was standing somewhat awkwardly as Amithy danced around him, pink hair shining and swaying with her. Collins had a smile on his face but his body barely moved. Brant had found some girl to dance with and he was doing more of a grinding motion on her that really didn't look like dancing.

I was tired of the sickeningly sweet colored concoctions that were floating around on the trays of the servers and decided I would make my way up to the bar area where I could get a drink that wouldn't make me sick to my stomach. I stood at the rail waiting for the man behind the counter to make his way over to me. There were two men in a heated discussion next to me, and I could not help but overhear.

"All this stupid blasting and destroying of the city, it's scaring off all my cleaners. I have already had 3 people this week go out and not come back for lunch time. They didn't even tell me they were leaving they just up and went." Said one of the men.

"If you ask me this whole thing is nothing more than a publicity stunt. I mean look at those guys, they are just a bunch of kids holding weapons thinking everyone is going to love them. Why aren't they out there doing real work instead of pretending to be heroes?" Said the other.

"Can I just get some water?" I said to the man behind the counter as he had finally made his way down to see me. He looked at me like I had grown a third ear or something; I guess water was not something people were really drinking here.

He handed me my water and I turned and left, the two men still talking. Tonight was not turning out to be that great. And where was Fie, I looked at my communicator, 18:42, I told her this started at 6, she should have been here by now.

Collins was now done with his dancing and had moved to the side of the dance floor. At least I would have him to talk to. I walked over and he nodded at my arrival. "What you don't think any of the women here are worth your time?" He asked.

I looked around; there were a lot more younger women here now. They all blended together, short dress here, boobs hanging out there, and a sea of long legs. They all looked fine; they just weren't the one I was looking for. "Well none of them have caught my eye yet." Collins raised his eyebrow to me.

"What about that one?" Collins asked tilting his head toward a group of soldiers that were surrounding someone. As the crowd shifted and turned I could see the shine of bright red hair hanging down in a straight curtain. She was wearing a skin tight red dress with black lace trim and black embellishments around her breasts. Fie looked amazing and I smiled knowing she looked amazing for me.

"Good eye." I said leaving Collins alone walking toward the group. Fie was laughing sweetly at something one of the guys had said. She had collected quite a group and I even saw Brant there biding for her attention, the woman he had been dancing with earlier forgotten. Fie's eyes met mine and a smile played across her face and then vanished going back to the conversation she was having with one of the other guys.

We were acting like we didn't know each other, as we should. None of the people here knew of the past week's events. But this was more than keeping her cover, Fie was enjoying this. This was a game to her and she was loving every second of it.


	21. Chapter 21

**Quick note I am going to take a break from this story for a little while. I know where I want to go but right now I have a different story filling my mind and won't let me go unless I do something about it, so sadly this needs to go on the back burner for awhile. It is probably for the best anyways, I am mixing up my character voices and things just are not coming out right because I just don't feel it right now. I figured I would have to get the second part of the party up for you all before I left, and I decided as a treat to leave you with I included one of my favorite memories woven into the story. Until I see you all again, I leave you with part 2. **

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Chapter 21 – The Party Pt. 2

I stood at the outer edge of the group; we were all huddled around Fie. I didn't know what to do, everyone was trying to talk to her, everyone was trying for her attention, and she was not making this easy on me.

"I must say you have the most amazing eyes." Said one of the soldiers next to me.

I rolled my eyes; do we all sound that stupid trying to get girls' attention? I had to think of something, some way of getting Fie away from the other guys and claiming her as mine, again. I turned and left the group, watching as Fie's eyebrow lifted up slightly when I glanced back over my shoulder at her. The corners of my lips turned up slightly as a response.

I went and found one of the servers carrying the blue sickly sweet drink. It may have been too sweet for me, but it was Fie's favorite color. I grabbed one of the glasses off the trays, startling the man holding the tray as his back was toward me and he was not prepared for the weight shift. Luckily he was able to maintain control and the rest of the glasses did not go crashing to the floor. I apologized quickly and left with the drink.

Fie was still where I had left her, some of the more shy guys had left and now there were only a few still standing and talking to her. Brant had not given up yet, he was telling her some kind of story that apparently involved the use of wide arm motions to tell it correctly. With many of the others gone it was much easier to get in closer to Fie. "Here," I said handing her the blue drink completely interrupting Brant's story. "You looked like a blue kind of person to me, and it's just as sweet as I imagine you are." Man that was a bad line; I guess we all go stupid around a pretty woman.

Fie took the drink with a smile and took a small sip. Her lips done in a perfect shade of red lipstick that matched her hair and dress without making her look ridiculous. Her eyes closed as she savored the taste of the sweet liquid a slight moan escaped her lips. We all stood there watching her stunned, she made taking a sip look so incredibly sexy. From the corner of my eye I saw Brant adjust himself.

I felt my temper rise, I know this is all a game to Fie but I felt an overwhelming urge of possessiveness as I could see the lustful looks in the others' eyes. She was mine, and I would not let someone take her away from me. I had not been forward enough with Katniss and that did not turn out well for me in the end. If I had told her the day of the reaping how I felt the whole thing with Peeta might never have happened. I would not make that mistake again, Fie was mine and I would claim her for the whole world to see.

I closed the distance between Fie and myself, cupping her face in my hands and claiming her lips with mine. There was a small gasp of surprise from Fie which I used to my advantage, moving my tongue into her mouth. It felt great to kiss her where everyone could see. Fie is mine and now they all know.

I pulled back from the kiss slowly, licking my lips as they tasted like the blue drink Fie had just sipped. Combined with the taste of Fie it was no longer sickeningly sweet, it was perfect. "Tastes better on you." I said breathlessly.

Fie smiled and I could hear the pounding of my heart in my ears. Something about this, making me fight for her just made me want her so much more. "Care for a dance?" I asked extending my arm to her which she accepted. I pulled her away from the stunned and angry soldiers and out onto the dance floor where I quickly realized that I had no idea how to dance to this type of music.

I wrapped my arm around Fie's waist, pulling her body into mine. I love the way we fit together. Fie leaned her head into my chest and my hands smoothed across the thin silky fabric of her tight dress. I could feel her tiny but strong body beneath the sheer fabric. I am grateful that the music seems to be slow so Fie and I just stand there bodies together swaying from side to side.

"I missed you." I say into the top of Fie's hair.

"I can tell." I could hear the smile in her voice. Fie raised her head, meeting my gaze with large green eyes. I bent to delicately place my lips on hers, I couldn't help myself.

"You look great tonight." I said when Fie pulled away from the kiss.

"Thanks." She said almost shyly. "I was hoping that you would like it." She said fiddling with her dress, smoothing it down on the sides. Her arms wrapped back around my neck and we continued swaying. Soon the tempo of the music changed back into the faster beats that I had heard earlier.

Fie detached herself from me, pulling away enough to turn around. She began to move against me suggestively. I imagine I look quite a bit like Collins did when Amithy was moving against him on the dance floor. Fie was a bit more helpful, grabbing my hands which had fallen to my side. Her hands were on top of the backs of mine as she moved them onto her waist as her hips circled against me. Fie moved her body against mine and it was driving me crazy.

I didn't move against her, there was no need, Fie made us look graceful and I was simply along for the ride. Her scent swirled around me as she danced filling my head with the smell of cherries and mint. My hands instinctively tightened against her, pulling her into me, making it harder for her to move. I bent down and kissed her neck slowly leaving a trail of kisses down to her collarbone. Fie was still moving slightly against me.

The whole world seemed to melt away and I forgot that we were standing in the middle of a public place. There was nothing else in this world but Fie in my arms, her body against mine. But all too soon our moment was over as we snapped back into reality and saw stares coming at us from all directions.

I released Fie and she giggled, one hand covering her mouth, the other grabbing mine and pulling me off the dance floor. I followed without hesitation; it was so good to have her back with me again. Fuck, I had really missed her. Fie pulled us away to a wall near the dance area. She turned and kissed me, it was a long and deep kiss and she had to be the one to pull away as we heard the clearing of a throat.

We only slightly separated from each other as we turned to see who had interrupted us. Collins was standing beside us, arms crossed, but his eyes betrayed him. I could see he was holding back a smile. "I see you found someone to entertain yourself with."

"Collins, this is Fie. Fie meet Mike Collins my captain."

Fie extended her hand, "It's nice to meet you Mike."

Collins accepted her hand and shook it, his eyebrow slightly raised and he looked between Fie and me. "Don't you dare hurt him, he's been hurt enough. But go and have some fun, parties after all are for the fun of youth." With that Collins left.

"Well that was a little intense." Said Fie turning back to me once Collins was out of hearing range.

"Yeah I thought it was a little strange too, I guess he just wanted to come over to threaten you for my sake and then leave." It definitely was strange, Collins after all was trying to get me to meet someone, and then points Fie out, and then gets all protective of me when I actually pick her. Sometimes I just don't understand Collins, he is a fearless and commanding leader one moment, then one of the guys the next.

"So, would you like to dance some more, or would you like to show me off a bit, or what?" Fie asked me while I was still pondering the complexity that is Collins.

"Actually I wouldn't mind going and having you all to myself for a little while." I whispered into her ear.

Fie giggled, "Well isn't that a little forward, after all I just met you..." She was teasing me again.

"I think I have gotten to know you well enough for now, and I think the party will be going on for a couple of hours, no one will miss us if we sneak off for a little bit." A smile played across Fie's face and she nodded in agreement.

"I know the perfect place." She said then took me by the hand leading me to the back door. The door lead to a hallway, once the door closed it was amazing how much quieter it was. You could hear the beat of the music but it was muffled and easy to hear over. Fie continued to pull me through the hallway, there was another door at the end, when she opened it I was hit by the warmer moist air of outside.

It was dark now, but the air had not cooled much and it was heavy with moisture. We had emerged along the back side of the building and as I looked around there was no one else on the streets. All the buildings were black, no lights on in any of them as everyone was inside the building we just escaped from. Fie lead me around to a small escape ladder and released my hand as she began to climb.

I followed eagerly, having a great view above me. I could see straight up her short little dress, her underwear red and peeking out at me in between her steps. We reached the top of the ladder which leveled out onto a smooth flat rooftop. There were taller buildings on either side of the roof, one looked as if it housed apartment rooms.

Fie grasped the front of my shirt, balling it up in her fists as she pulled me into her for a long passionate kiss. I felt red hot, full of passion and something else, something new, possessiveness. All my life I have never had much and I have been very understanding that I should never get too attached to anything as I may lose it at any moment. But here and now, with her I felt like I needed her to be mine and mine alone.

I cupped her face with both of my hands, pulling her deeper into me. There was a slight incline to our left, it looked like there was an exhaust vent on the other side, but the incline made for the perfect place to lay Fie down. I staggered to my side pulling Fie along with me, careful not to break our connection; I needed to feel her body against mine.

I laid her against the incline pushing her dress up above her thighs exposing her red silk underwear to me. I ran the knuckle of my trigger finger up and down across the thin fabric, feeling her wetness through the fabric. I hooked her panties with my fingers and pulled them down to her ankles. With quick fingers I freed myself from my pants and leaned down to capture her lips while entering her in one fluid motion.

The excitement of being in such a public place not to mention the haste in which we were moving would guarantee this to be quick, but apparently not quick enough.

"Gale stop moving." Fie's voice was low, barely above a whisper, but full of urgency. I stayed in her but stopped moving lying almost fully on top of her. I looked back behind my shoulder and I saw directly behind me, one of the windows was illuminated with light, a figure standing near the window. The glass was not completely transparent; it seemed to have an etching on it, like a window that may be placed in a bathroom.

Someone must have had enough of the party and decided to go back home for the night, because the figure was standing to the side, it was likely it was a man going to the bathroom after the long night of drinking before retiring himself to bed. If we stayed still he may not even notice us, it was dark and with the pattern on the glass it would be hard to see through clearly.

My heart was racing and I could feel that Fie's was too. Ever so slowly I began to move in and out of her again, trying not to make any wide movements. Fie's eyes were wide with alarm but soon the feeling of need combined with the excitement changed her features into one of ecstasy. I could feel Fie tightening around me and I knew that she was close. I increased the rhythm, knowing it would make slightly more noticeable moments, but in that moment I did not care.

Fie moaned into my jacket, trying to bite the material to cover her noise as she found her release and I followed. I checked back over my shoulder, breathing heavy, the light had gone off, the figure now gone. I don't believe we had been spotted but I didn't want to wait around to see either. Fie and I both fixed our clothes quickly and scurried down the ladder back toward the party.

We burst into the hallways, and could not contain our laughter. Now under the light I could see we had not quite cleaned up enough. Fie was covered in fine black dust all along her back where she had laid on the roof. I tried to brush it off with my hands but that just smeared the dirt around, mixing with the slight sheen of sweat from our excursions. She would need to get to a bathroom to wash this off.


End file.
